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“Oh ? I never saw anything so darling as 
that Dutch baby! 0h ? if only it belonged to 
me I’d be happy every minute. How could 
anything ever be so cunning and dear! It’s 
got on a skirt as long as its own grandmoth- 
er would wear; and a waist exactly like its 
mother would wear; and a plaid apron — 
Oh ? did any one ever !” Ch. XI. 


RAY’S REWARD 


BY 

ISABEL FOSTER 



BOSTON 

REID PUBLISHING COMPANY 
1911 





Copyright, 1911, by 
Isabel Foster 



* «, 

%* C V 



TO 

MY MOTHER 

WITH THE LOVING WISH 
THAT THESE PAGES 
MAY RECALL 
MANY HAPPY MEMORIES 


CONTENTS 


I 

Landing At Naples 

i 

II 

The Blue Grotto 

15 

III 

Doggie 

ao 

IV 

The Fairy City 

42 

V 

The Venetian Fete 

58 

VI 

Aqua Vista 

70 

VII 

The Fire 

82 

VIII 

Paris Amusements 

90 

IX 

Beth Is Puzzled 

102 

X 

A Novel Bath 

111 

XI 

A Unique Island 

121 

XII 

Homeward Bound 

132 

XIII 

At Home 

140 

XIV 

The Beal 

151 


Ray’s Reward 

I 

LANDING AT NAPLES 

“T feel the steamer stopping/’ said Ray 
suddenly; “oh, why do we stop such a 
long way from the land ? how I wish 
that we might go nearer.” 

“ I know what it is/’ responded Jack, “I 
saw the sailors lifting the great, great big 
anchor from the deck and throwing it down 
in the sea.” 

“ What lots of little rowboats,” exclaim- 
ed his brother Will ; “ where did they come 
from all of a sudden.” 

“ Oh, look, look! ” cried Ray, “ some peo- 
ple are throwing money down in one of the 
little boats. Oh-h-h, what a pity! it fell in 
the water. Oh, the man is jumping in after 
it. ” 

“ Ho, he’ll never find a little bit of a coin 
in a whole ocean full of water.” 

“He’s found it ! ” 


1 


2 


RAY'S REWARD 


“ He's got it in his mouth ! " 

“ Lots of people are throwing money in 
the water now." 

“ Look, look ! there is a boy diving from 
a boat. How quick he is ! Now he’s caught 
it in his mouth." 

“ There in that other boat, are peasants 
with bunches of flowers." 

“ Listen ! there over in that boat ; see, a 
man is playing a mandolin and a woman is 
singing." 

“ There's so much to look at I don't know 
where to look 'cause I’m sure to miss some- 
thing," said Ray excitedly; “e very thing is 
so interesting. Where is Beth ? " 

“ She is over there with Mother. Here 
they come," replied Will. “ Isn't this just 
great Mother ? did you and Beth see the 
boys diving for the coins ? and they never 
missed one." 

“ Yes indeed we did; and have you boys 
and Ray been getting a good look at old 
Vesuvius ? Do you notice the smoke rising 
from it ? and this is one of the most beau- 
tiful harbors in the world." 


LANDING AT NAPLES 


3 


“ Yes, yes,” replied Jack, “but it’s jolly 
hard to catch a penny in your mouth when 
you’re diving in the water. I would rather 
watch that boy.” 

“ What perfectly lovely fruit, ’’said Beth, 
“in such cute tiny baskets. Why can’t we 
get some ? ” 

“ I’ll go down,” offered Will, “on one of 
the lower decks and see if I can make them 
hear me.” 

“ No,” said his mother, “wait and let us 
see what other people are doing.” 

“ They’re fixing a basket now; see Moth- 
er, they’re fastening it on a long pole. Oh 
what fun ! They’re lifting the pole way up 
to this deck.” 

“ There, a lady took the basket off of the 
pole, and she is throwing money down to 
the people in the boat.” 

“ Let us make signs for them to hand us 
up a basket. They don’t see us ! Now they 
do ! I’ll take the basket off,” said Beth. 

“ Shall I throw the money? ” asked Mrs. 
Gray. 

“ Let me,” insisted Will. 


4 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ No, let me,” begged Jack. 

“ I intend to do it,” said Will, “ I asked 
first.” 

Both boys tried to take the money from 
their mother’s hand and between them let 
it fall over the steamer’s side. 

“ If you hadn’t interfered ! ” exclaimed 
Will. 

“ But I knew that I could throw it best,” 
retorted Jack. 

“ It’s in the water,” called Ray; “the boy 
is diving — he’s got it already.” 

“ He thinks that it was thrown into the 
water for him, ” said Mrs. Gray. “See, the 
woman who sent us the fruit is now bow- 
ing and smiling at us, as she waits for her 
money. Here, Beth, suppose you throw it 
this time.” 

Beth flushed with the importance of her 
task, and threw the money with a desper- 
ate swing of her short arm. Down it went 
oyer the heads of those in the boats who 
jumped high with arms upstretched in 
their efforts to catch it. 

Down into the water it went, and the 


LANDING AT NAPLES 


5 


boy diver soon had it between his teeth, 
smiling and bowing, while the passengers 
on the steamer laughed and clapped him 
for his cleverness. 

“ The idea,” said Jack, “of a girl trying 
to throw straight. I knew Beth couldn’t 
do it. If you want to waste some more 
money, Mother, you had better let Ray try. 
Girls never can throw.” 

‘ ‘Am I really to try? ” asked Ray eagerly: 
“that will be fun.” 

Mrs. Gray had not thought of chancing 
the loss of another coin; but now she hand- 
ed one to Ray, cautioning her to be careful. 
The color came into Ray’s face and she 
clasped the money tight in her hand. The 
next moment it flashed in the sunlight and 
fell into the woman’s apron upheld to re- 
ceive it, and then she bowed and smiled 
and kissed her hand to Ray. 

“ How did you do it? ” asked Beth, while 
the boys declared that it was just by chance 
that it fell in the right place. 

“ Bet you couldn’t do it again,” insisted 
Jack. 


6 


BAY’S REWARD 


“ Well, I’m not going to have any more 
money spent for this very small basket of 
fruit,” declared Mrs. Gray; “ but I’m glad, 
Ray, that you have managed to get it paid 
for at last.” 

“ Could you do it again?” persisted Jack. 

“ I think I could do it just the same a- 
gain,” she replied. 

66 Well, how did you do it ? ” 

“I just felt I could do it ’cause it was 
given to me to do, and it was right for the 
woman to get it ’cause it was really her’s. 
I waved it high in the air so as she could 
see it was for her, then I dropped it and 
let her do the rest. You saw her move the 
boat right under where it fell.” 

“How funny!” interrupted Beth. “ I tried 
to throw it far out so it would surely reach 
to where her boat was, and I don’t know 
where I did throw it. Didn’t you try to 
throw it into her boat? ” 

“ No, ’cause her boat kept moving about 
so. I just showed her where it was and how 
I was going to drop it, then my part was 
over. It was her part to catch it, and she 


LANDING AT NAPLES 


7 


did. I couldn’t do her part for her could I? ” 

“ Why, I don’t know. I was so anxious 
about her catching it that I hardly noticed 
what I was doing at all.” 

“ That’s funny,” laughed Kay; “you did 
the wrong end first ; you were busier about 
her catching it than about your throwing 
it. Maybe she was busy at the wrong end 
too.” 

“ How queer you are, Ray; what do you 
mean by being busy at the wrong end ? ” 

“ Why, Beth, don’t you see ? you were 
all anxious about her catching it, when 
you really ought to have been thinking 
about your part ; and maybe she was all 
anxious about your throwing it, instead of 
watching her end of catching it.” 

“Fiddlesticks!” broke in Jack; “girls 
can’t throw anyhow.” 

“Well, you boys didn’t do any better 
than I did,” said Beth, tossing her head, 
“and Kay did, so there she’s a girl.” 

“I could have thrown it all right,” re- 
torted Jack angrily, “ if Will hadn’t been 
determined to do it ” 


8 


KAY’S KEWAKD 


“ Aw, so could I, if you hadn’t grabbed 
the money same time as I did,” said Will. 
“You never think anybody can do anything 
the right way except you. I wouldn’t be 

so cock sure about a thing as you are ” 

“ Boys, do stop quarreling,” begged Mrs. 
Gray; “ pick up our packages; the passen- 
gers are hurrying on the tender and we 
must go.” 

The children were much excited over 
the prospect of landing in Europe — really 
being on land again after ten days on the 
water, where for many days no land was 
ever in sight. 

They enjoyed getting off the big steam- 
er and on the little one which was to land 
them at Naples. They were entertained 
to see the custom-house officials opening 
everybody’s trunks to see what they con- 
tained and then pasting little slips of paper 
on each one that meant it was all right. 

Then Mrs. Gray and the children got 
into a carriage to drive to the hotel, and 
they all thought it was the queerest look- 
ing city that they had ever seen. Some of 


LANDING AT NAPLES 


9 


the streets were as narrow as alleys, but 
the houses were very high and different 
families lived in each separate story, and 
clothes-lines were hung all the way across 
the street from opposite houses, and all the 
washing was hung on them. It looked very 
odd to the Americans to see all sorts of 
clothes hanging the whole way across a 
street from every story. 

As Ray said, every one seemed to live 
out of doors. Italian women were cooking 
in little stoves on the street, in front of 
where they lived. Others were knitting, 
and men were making shoes. There was 
so much going on for them to see, that the 
children were sorry when they reached the 
hotel; but Mrs. Gray was glad to get set- 
tled and rest awhile. Then the children, 
feeling that there was so much to be seen 
that they could not stay in their rooms, 
obtained permission to go down into the 
beautiful garden, just across from the hotel, 
where she could see them from the balcony 
in her room. 

As they reached the hotel entrance a 


10 


RAY’S REWARD 


lady, dressed in black, called their names; 
but the boys were talking so loudly that 
they went on without hearing her, and 
Beth was close on their heels. Ray was 
a short distance behind and caught the 
words: “Ray — Ray Gray! ” 

She paused a moment to listen and 
saw the lady coming to her. 

“ Why, Ray, I am very glad that you are 
all at this hotel. I lost sight of your moth_ 
er in the excitement and hurry of landing, 
and I forgot to ask her where you were 
going to stay.” 

Ray looked surprised for a moment and 
then said: “My name isn’t Ray Gray.” 

“ What do you mean, dear? I cannot sure- 
ly have mistaken your mother’s name.” 

“ I haven’t any mother. I’m an orphan; 
didn’t you know? ” 

“Of course not, dear, or I would not 
have mentioned it. I thought you were all 
Mrs. Gray’s children.” 

“ They are,” Ray said, pointing to the 
others who had crossed the street and were 
beckoning her to join them. “But I live in 


LANDING AT NAPLES 


11 


an orphanage with a lot of other orphans, 
and when I go home I have to live there 
again — there! I was forgetting all about 
‘the speck of blue/ and I promised I would 
keep on remembering it about everything.’' 

Mrs. Lester looked puzzled. 

“ I don’t quite understand you,” she said 
kindly, “what did you mean by ‘the speck 
of blue’ ? But I see the other children are 
impatient. I must not keep you so I will 
walk across to the garden with you, and 
then you may tell me what you mean.” 

“ Maybe I can’t make you understand,” 
said Kay, “but knowing about it makes 
everything easier all the time. 

“ It happened the day we got to Gibral- 
tar. You remember how excited everybody 
was to land there, and how stormy it look- 
ed all day when we were coming to it? 
Well, I kept watching the clouds and it got 
darker and darker and I got crosser, and 
once when I was saying how mean it was 
for a storm to spoil everybody’s pleasure, 
Mrs. Warren told me that I was spoiling 
my own fun. Then she told me a saying, 


12 


RAY’S REWARD 


but I can’t remember the way she said it, 
only it meant that if the sky was all blue 
with only one tiny cloud on it, some peo- 
ple wouldn’t notice the sky, they’d keep 
fussing themselves up about the one tiny 
cloud. But, she said, if the sky was cover- 
ed with dark, angry clouds with only a 
speck of blue sky to be seen, some people 
would keep seeing ‘the speck of blue.’ 
Then she showed me where the clouds part- 
ed and we could find some sky, and we 
decided to watch it and see it grow larger — 
and, don’t you remember, the sun was out 
before we got off the steamer to see Gib- 
raltar? The next day she talked a lot to 
me, and she showed me how to look for a 
‘speck of blue’ in everything. It’s such 
fun — most as good as a fairy wand, and 
more fun than pretending things. All my 
life, whenever I wanted anything so bad 
that it hurt ’cause I couldn’t have it, I just 
pretended what I wanted was real; and 
now what Mrs. Warren told me is whole 
heaps better, ’cause ‘the speck of blue’ is 
really real you know, ’cause the clouds 


LANDING AT NAPLES 


13 


come and go, but the sky keeps on in just 
the same place.” 

Kay paused out of breath with her rapid 
explanation, and her companion smoothed 
the folds of her black dress as she said sadly: 
“For some people there is very little blue 
sky. But you must join your little friends 
and I will go back to the hotel.” 

That night Mrs. Lester sat with Mrs. 
Gray on her balcony and when Ray went 
to say good-night to them, she arrived as 
Mrs. Lester was saying: “I have quite lost 
my heart to your daughter Beth. I never 
tire looking at her; she is like a beautiful 
picture with those golden curls and great 
brown eyes.” 

Ray finished saying good-night and 
went to bed, but she had to pull the bed- 
clothes up over her head so that no one 
would hear her crying as she sobbed to her- 
self: “Nobody loves me; if I had gold curls 
and big brown eyes Mrs. Lester would, but 
she loves Beth, and Beth doesn’t need it; 
she’s got a mother and father and brothers 
to love her. Oh, I wish I belonged to some- 


14 


RAY’S REWARD 


body or somebody belonged to me! I can’t 
find even a tiny ‘ speck of blue’ tonight! 
I can’t — I can’t — maybe ’cause it’s dark. 
I’ll think better in the morning when the 
light comes again — if I only had anything 
belonging to me that loved me — maybe 
some day I can have a dog.” 


II 


THE BLUE GROTTO 

T he next day Mrs. Gray and the chil- 
dren, accompanied by Mrs. Lester, 
were on a small steamer going to the 
island of Capri which has at its rocky base 
many caves or caverns, among them the 
famous Blue Grotto, which the children 
were wild to see. 

While the children were amusing them- 
selves in many ways on the little steamer, 
the two women were talking together. 

“I learned only yesterday,” said Mrs. 
Lester, “that Ray is an orphan. She seems 
an unusual child, and impressed me from 
the first day I saw you, as such a strange 
element in your family; for I then suppos- 
ed she was one of your children.” 

“ No relation whatever,” Mrs. Gray has- 
tened to say, “and I did not wish to bring 
her, as I do not know what sort of an in- 
15 


16 


RAY’S REWARD 


fiuence her constant companionship may 
have over my Beth; but I couldn’t get out 
of it very well. It came about through a 
rich old man, one of the directors of the 
orphanage, who took a fancy to Ray and 
her air-castles. He used to send for her to 
go with him on his drives, and it diverted 
him to hear her talk. It seems she talked 
to good effect, as she was always making 
believe they were in Venice riding in gon- 
dolas. When his will was read it was found 
that he had endowed the orphanage with 
a large sum with the stipulation that Ray 
be sent to Europe on a trip which must 
include Venice, with a suitable chaperon, 
before any of his money could be used for 
the orphanage. The whole affair made 
quite a commotion, hut the directors could 
not afford to lose the rich legacy. I am on 
one of the committees, and so when they 
learned that I intended taking a trip with 
my children this summer, they decided 
that their opportunity had come; and I 
really knew not how to refuse.” 

“ It certainly was kind of you, for Ray 


Rowboats attached to the steamer, after taking the 
passengers into The Blue Grotto at Capri. Cli. II. 























































• • 









THE BLUE GROTTO 


17 


is not an attractive child — ” At this point 
Will rushed up to them. 

" We’re there! we’re there! Look, Moth- 
er, at the rowboats; and only two people 
can go in any boat and Jack and I are go- 
ing in the same one.” 

" But will it be safe? is there a careful 
person to row you?” 

All the children were by this time 
crowding around. 

" Of course it’s safe for boys,” said Jack, 
with the air of having decided the question, 
"it wouldn’t do for the girls; they’d get 
frightened, going into a dark cave with 
only an Italian who couldn’t understand 
a word they said.” 

“ Can’t both the girls go in a boat with 
me?” inquired Mrs. Gray; "we’re none of 
us very large.” 

"Maybe Beth will go with me,” said 
Mrs. Lester. I am alone and would not en- 
joy having a stranger with me.” 

" That is very kind and will arrange it 
nicely,” replied Mrs. Gray. 

But Beth had pushed up against her 


18 


RAY’S REWARD 


mother and said: “I want to go with you. 
I don’t think it’s fair for Ray to have my 
mother when we go into the dark cave.” 

Poor Ray stood looking from one to 
another and asked helplessly: “ Can’t I go 
in the Blue Grotto with just somebody?” 

“ Why, I hope that you’ll go with me,” 
exclaimed Mrs. Lester; “that’s our arrange- 
ment, one big person and one little person. 
There’s a boat now; we’ll get in that one, 
and start before the others decide how they 
are going.” 

Ray’s sober face brightened, and when 
she was seated beside Mrs. Lester she ex- 
claimed ecstatically: “Let’s make believe 
it’s a cave where robbers have hidden most 
beau-ti-ful stones — diamonds and pearls 
and corals.” 

“Very well we will; and now we are a- 
bout to enter. Oh, I did not know that 
the entrance was so small. I don’t like to 
go into a place like that.” 

“ Why it’s just only a hole,” said Ray, 
“and we’ll have to duck our heads;” and 
they both bent far forward, but the boat 


THE BLUE GROTTO 


19 


stopped and the man rowing made motions 
to them which they did not understand 
for a little while. 

Then Ray called out suddenly: u We’ve 
got to lie down flat in the boat — did you 
ever ! ” 

“ We can’t do that,” began Mrs. Lester; 
then she looked where Ray’s finger pointed 
and saw that the people in the boat which 
at that moment was entering the Grotto 
were lying flat in the bottom of the boat. 
She therefore got down and Ray nestled 
close beside her, while they saw the man 
take hold of a heavy chain and draw the 
boat through the opening. 

“ I feel as if we should never get outside 
again,” shivered Mrs. Lester, shutting her 
eyes for an instant to open them suddenly 
at Ray’s exclamation : “ Oh — oh — oh ! ” 
Looking around she saw that now they 
were through the small opening and were 
within a rock-grotto of considerable size. 

“ It’s the bluest place I ever saw,” cried 
Ray rapturously; “ blue rocks everywhere 
around us and over our heads; blue water; 


20 


RAY’S REWARD 


blue boats; blue people; blue — blue — blue. 
It isn’t a robbers’ cave — we’ve made a mis- 
take, haven’t we? this belongs to fairies 
and kelpies. It’s the nearest to fairy-land 
I ever got in my life.” 

“It’s as wonderful as it is beautiful,” 
replied Mrs. Lester. “I am glad that I did 
not turn back at the entrance.” 

They were soon rowed out again where 
the outside air looked unnatural and the 
light very intense and glaring after the 
soft blue glow of the grotto. 

When they were again on the steamer 
they found Jack and Will quarreling. 

“ You would have your own way,” said 
Jack. “I told you to do as I did.” 

“Oh yes,” retorted Will, “you know it 
all, all the time.” 

“ Well, I didn’t lose my hat, did I ? ” 

“Oh, Will,” broke in Mrs. Gray, “have 
you lost your new straw hat?” 

“ Yes he has, and I told him to take it 
off when we got in the rowboat, but he had 
to have his own way and kept it on.” 

“ I took it off when we had to lie down, 


THE BLUE GROTTO 21 

and that was enough if you hadn’t jerked 
up your arm at the wrong time — ” 

“ If you’d taken it off when I told you 
then you wouldn’t have lost it.” 

“ I did not think well of you hoys going 
without an older person with you,” com- 
plained Mrs. Gray; “and now I’ll buy you 
a cheap cap. I can’t keep getting good 
straw hats and having you lose them.” 

The boys were sulky for the greater 
part of the day with each other; and when 
the party reached Naples and Mrs. Gray 
bought a cheap cap for Will he grew very 
cross indeed. 

Jack teased him and, calling his atten- 
tion to a half-starved looking dog along 
their way, said: “That’s the way you look 
Will. That cur has exactly your expression 
with that cap on the side of your head.” 

Will was growing more angry every 
moment, and when he saw the dog with 
its head cocked on one side regarding him, 
he picked up a large stone and threw it 
with cruel force at the dog. There was a 
sharp yelp of pain and the starved, weak- 


22 


RAY’S REWARD 


ened dog lay on the ground moaning very 
piteously. 

Every one was too startled for instant 
speech; but quick as a flash Ray was bend- 
ing over it with endearing words, and al- 
though it had never heard such words be- 
fore, it felt the sympathy in the voice, and 
its tail wagged feebly in response. 

“You poor little orphan dog,” crooned 
Ray, bending over it, “you haven’t got 
anybody to love you. You don’t belong to 
anybody, and now you’re hurt.” 

The cries ceased for a moment and the 
little creature tried to drag itself nearer 
to the kind voice. 

Mrs. Gray approached: “It can’t be 
much hurt,” she said; “it will soon get all 
right; and we must go on or we’ll be too 
late for supper. I am astonished and pain- 
ed, Will, to see that you have such cruelty 
in your nature. I am ashamed that your 
sister should see such a disposition in you.” 

Will made no reply as he was already 
deeply sorry that his action had hurt the 
dog; but he felt too angry to show any 


THE BLUE GROTTO 


23 


regret. For a wonder Jack was silent also, 
feeling sorry that he had teased his broth- 
er to such an outburst. Both boys were 
ashamed of themselves so they walked on 
ahead of the others. Beth looked after 
them and then joined her mother and Ray. 

Mrs. Lester had left the party when 
the steamer landed them back in Naples, 
and had been driven directly back to the 
hotel. 

Beth looked pityingly at the dog, but 
said to her mother: “ Let’s go on for I can’t 
bear to hear it cry that way. I don’t see 
how you can stand it, Ray.” 

“ Yes, Ray, come now,” urged Mrs. Gray, 
“ we can do nothing for it. Some one will 
come along presently and tend to it.” 

u Oh, please let me stay with it and love 
it awhile? I don’t want any supper. In- 
deed I’m not hungry; do, do please, let me 
stay with it awhile; and when you think 
it’s too late for me to stay, the boys can 
come for me. See, it’s wagging its tail ! 
Oh, it licks my hand ! I can’t go — oh, I 
can t go ! 


24 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ This is nonsense, Ray ; I cannot per- 
mit you to give me so much trouble ; you 
must do as I say and come at once.” 

“ Yes, Mrs. Gray,” said Ray obediently; 
then she added : “ good-by doggie.” 

With eyes filled with tears she did not 
trust herself to look again in the dog’s di- 
rection but hurried on beside the others. 

For a few seconds they heard no sound 
from the dog; then a woeful howl greeted 
their ears as the poor creature felt itself 
deserted. 

Ray quickened her steps and resolute- 
ly forced herself not to look, while the tears 
would not stay in her eyes, hut ran down 
her cheeks. 

Another mournful howl, followed by 
pitiful cries as of a creature in pain. 

All three glanced back involuntarily 
to see what had occurred, and saw the poor 
little dog making efforts to follow, drag- 
ging one leg which seemed helpless. 

The tears dried on Ray’s cheeks as she 
looked, and without a word she ran swift- 
ly back to the dog. 


THE BLUE GROTTO 


25 


The cries stopped and the tail wagged 
feebly. 

“You poor, hurt little thing,” sobbed 
Ray, “how can you forgive me for leaving 
you ? and you were trying to come after 
me, poor little doggie ! ” 

With motherly tenderness she gather- 
ed the dog in her arms; it nestled great- 
fully against her, looking at her with lov- 
ing eyes and licking her hand. 

Hastening to rejoin Mrs. Gray and Beth 
she said with sorrowful determination : “ I 
can’t leave it — I know I’m naughty not 
to obey and I’m sorry, awful sorry — but 
it was crawling after me, even when it hurt 
it so — just please let me take it as far as 
the hotel, and give it one chance, ’cause 
maybe some man will be kind to it — don’t 
make me leave it alone, crying after me, 
please, please . I must take it with me to 
the hotel, then you can punish me — even 
if I have to go back to the orphanage, and 
never see Venice.” 

“ I don’t wish to punish you, Ray; but 
look at your dress, with a dirty street-dog 


26 


RAY’S REWARD 


against it. I’ll let you take it to the hotel 
but it ends there. Whatever they do with 
it you must go with us to our room where 
I can brush off the dirt from your dress. 
You see you are making a great deal of 
unnecessary trouble for me.” 

When they reached the hotel the por- 
ter in charge was asked if the dog could 
remain somewhere to rest as it had been 
hurt. He was very polite. He assured her 
that it was unusual but he would do what 
he could; and Mrs. Gray had the uncom- 
fortable feeling that he was waiting for a 
fee, which she had no idea of giving him 
for the care of a stray street-dog, which 
had already caused much inconvenience. 

Mrs. Lester was standing in the hall- 
way when they entered. She looked at the 
contrast presented by the two girls, and 
pitied Mrs. Gray for having such an unat- 
tractive addition to her party. 

She looked at Beth’s pretty face, and 
at her clean unrumpled white dress, and 
experienced the pleasure which anything 
of beauty always gave her. 


THE BLUE GROTTO 


27 


Then she looked at Ray, with her dress 
soiled and mussed, her hat on one side, and 
her face tear-stained and dirty. It made 
her feel sympathetic toward Mrs. Gray, 
and when they were sitting together on 
her balcony that evening she said: 

“ It certainly is hard on you to have a 
strange child to annoy you on all your trip 
and I never would have undertaken such 
a thing.” 

“ I think it is going to be more trouble- 
some than I anticipated, because there has 
developed a trait of obstinacy in Ray that 
I never noticed before today. I told you 
how she was at first set upon staying with 
that dog, and afterwards how she set my 
wishes aside and carried it here.” 

“ You certainly have my entire sympa- 
thy,” began Mrs. Lester, who then paused 
to listen. 

The faint cries of a dog reached them, 
then the sound of a blow followed by pier- 
cing yelps. 

The next instant Ray was on the bal- 
cony like a whirlwind. 


28 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ Mrs. Gray! the men! the dog! they’r 
chasing it away from here ! it can’t walk ! 
you said if I brought it here I mustn’t do 
anything more, so you see I can’t; but 
you — oh won’t you do something ? ” 

Mrs. Lester felt very sorry that Mrs. 
Gray should be so continually annoyed by 
this girl whom she had consented to bring 
on her trip with her; so she took her part 
saying sharply: “I think you hardly show 
the proper gratitude to Mrs. Gray, who is 
so kind to you. She cannot let you pick 
up all the stray animals you come across.” 

Ray turned upon her a pair of blue eyes 
brimming over with tears as she sobbed : 
“ It’s a poor, lonely, orphan dog; it’s got 
nobody but me in the world, and now it 
thinks I don’t love it. It’s hurt so it can’t 
take care of itself any more; and I can’t do 

anything for it ” 

Mrs. Lester was feeling strangely dis- 
turbed by the agonized pleading in the blue 
eyes turned half hopefully to her own; and 
the yelps, continuing, added nothing to 
her comfort. 


THE BLUE GROTTO 


29 


Quite unexpectedly Ray made a direct 
appeal to her, an intimate plea as though 
she would understand. 

“ Can you do something? can’t you help 
the doggie to see ‘a speck of blue’ just once 
in its poor little life ? ” 

Mrs. Lester did not know why she did 
it, but she almost ran down the broad stair- 
way, out to where the dog’s cries could be 
heard. It took only a few minutes to ar- 
range matters and return to the expectant 
Ray. 

“ The dog will be fed and taken care of,” 
she announced, “ while I am at the hotel 
anyhow, for I am paying for its board, and 
have promised to give a good fee if it got 
well quickly; that will make them take 
good care of it.” 

Mrs. Lester was startled by the look in 
Ray’s eyes; she never remembered having 
seen such a look of devotion and gratitude 
before. 

“ You are the best person in the world,” 
said Ray softly. “ I will do anything you 
ask me to, always — always. ” 


Ill 


DOGGIE 

W hen Mrs. Lester awakened the fol- 
lowing morning she felt happier 
than she had for many months and 
wondered why. She was glad that she had 
done a kindness to a dumb animal, and re- 
lieved the sympathetic heart of a little girl. 
It seemed as though her feeling of happi- 
ness came from neither of these causes, 
however. She seemed to see continually a 
pair of blue eyes fixed upon her with such 
devotion that it touched and warmed her 
cold heart. 

She was very lonely since her husband 
and only child, a beautiful little girl, had 
passed away from her. Her wealth gave 
little pleasure for she had no one to share 
it with; and had never learned to live un- 
selfishly and give for the sake of making 
others happy. Now that she was alone she 
30 


DOGGIE 


31 


lived only for herself, and denied herself 
nothing that she cared to have. She crav- 
ed everything beautiful around her; but 
she looked for the beauty which the eye 
could see; she had not learned to find the 
beauty that is within, the beauty that 
goodness gives. 

Therefore the moment that she saw 
Beth, her fancy was taken by the beauty 
of the girl. She enjoyed looking at her, 
and resented having the plain-looking Ray 
thrust upon her notice to spoil the picture. 

But now she could not help thinking 
about Ray, and was surprised to find that 
the blue eyes with that expression in them, 
were actually beautiful. 

She remained in her room during that 
morning, and drove along the sea-drive in 
the late afternoon. 

At night she had a disagreeable sur- 
prise which kept her going constantly to 
the door of her room until she saw the Gray 
party coming along the hall. As Mrs. Gray 
passed she said: “ I want to know if you will 
let Ray come to my room for awhile ? ” 


32 


RAY’S REWARD 


Upon having the permission given she 
drew Ray inside the room and shut the 
door, keeping one hand on a chair near it. 
There was no light in the room, and Mrs. 
Lester gave an amused laugh as she trans- 
ferred Ray’s hand to where hers had been. 

Ray felt a cold nose, and then a warm 
tongue licking her hand, and she cried out: 
“ Why, it’s Doggie! however did he get to 
your room ? ” 

“ Ah, my dear, it appears that he cried 
most of the night, and disturbed the hotel 
guests. The proprietor heard of it and or- 
dered it from here. The porter, not wish- 
ing to lose the promised fee, carried him 
to me first, for my orders. What could I 
do ? This was the only place where he was 
safe, and, as he cries at intervals, I have 
been obliged to keep my hand on the dirty 
little thing, to keep him from disturbing 
the other guests. What am I to do ? I can- 
not sit up with him all night, and I cannot 
put him in any place until morning.” 

“ If only I could stay with him.” 

“ Will you, Ray ? ” 


DOGGIE 


33 


“ I’d just love to.” 

“ Then I will order a single bed put in 
here; and now you keep him quiet while I 
ask Mrs. Gray if you can stay with me to- 
night for company. I shall not say a word 
about the dog, so do not worry.” 

“Oh, but Mrs. Lester, I couldn’t stay 
without telling her.” 

“ Why not? she would be perfectly will- 
ing to have you stay with me; and if I 
told her about the dog she would think it 
was giving me trouble, and it would trou- 
ble her because one of her party had caus- 
ed it. It makes it easier for every one by 
not saying a word about it.” 

It had always been Mrs. Lester’s way 
to have everything made easy — a form of 
self-indulgence. 

Ray was silent a moment and then said: 
“ Don’t you see I couldn’t ? ” 

“ No, I cannot see the slightest reason.” 

Ray sighed because this beautiful, kind 
lady had such difficulty in understanding 
her ; but she tried to explain : 

“ When Mrs. Gray let me bring Doggie 


34 


RAY’S REWARD 


to the hotel she said it was to end there, 
so you see it has to, unless she is willing.” 

“But she has nothing to do with this. 
You are doing something to oblige me; 
besides, you did not promise to have noth- 
ing more to do with the dog, did you ? ” 
“I didn’t promise in words,” said Ray 
thoughtfully, “but I acted a promise.’' 

“ How was that ? ” 

“ Don’t you see ? when she said if she let 
me bring him to the hotel it had to end 
there — well, I kept on carrying him here, 
so I was acting a promise. If I wasn’t will- 
ing to do as she said, I would have had to 
put him down then, wouldn’t I ? ” 

“ I don’t consider that you made a prom- 
ise unless you told her that you would not 
have anything more to do with the dog.” 

Ray looked at Mrs. Lester in distress, 
and then said timidly : “ Mr. Strong told 
me that what I meant was always back of 
words I said. If I said things and meant 
something different it was a lie; and if I 
acted one way and meant something else, 
that was a lie; and words weren’t so im- 


DOGGIE 


35 


portant as what I meant back of them. 
So don’t you see ? When I carried Doggie 
here, I meant I wouldn’t give any more 
trouble ’cause of him; and so I can’t ’less 
Mrs. Gray lets me.” 

“ But this is not going to trouble Mrs. 
Gray any,” persisted Mrs. Lester. 

u But she said it ended when I got him 
to the hotel, and this isn’t ending it. Any- 
way, that was the promise inside of me 
and I’ve got to keep it.” 

Mrs. Lester was getting angry. She 
was accustomed to having her own way, 
and thinking that way was right. And 
here was a mere child showing a standard 
higher than she herself had attained, even 
in thought, and it disturbed her. 

Then she was being put to very much 
bother on account of a stray dog; and the 
very child that had brought it upon her, 
was now unwilling to help her in the way 
that she wished. 

“ Oh, very well,” she said finally. I will 
see if I can make some other arrangement 
with the proprietor. If I cannot then you 


36 


RAY’S REWARD 


can only blame your own obstinacy if the 
dog has to be put out tonight. Mrs. Gray 
was right when she said that you were 
obstinate.” 

As the door closed on Mrs. Lester, Ray 
sank to her knees by the chair on which 
the dog was lying and sobbed : “ Doggie, 
Doggie! oh, you won’t understand either! 
you’ll think I’ve deserted you — but I’d do 
anything to keep you mine always, and 
now I can’t keep you comfortable, even to- 
night — oh, Doggie, you don’t know, but I 
never could do anything really myself — I 
live at an orphanage — I just follow rules, 
and what I’m told to do — and now I can 
only do what Mrs. Gray says — don’t you 
feel how I love you? — only I can’t ever do 
anything but just things I’m told to do — ” 

Mrs. Lester entering caught the heart- 
broken gasp of the last sentences, and over- 
come by the same impulse that had caused 
her to run down stairs to the dog’s rescue, 
she made a sudden resolution. 

“ I’ve decided what to do with the dog.” 

“Must he have to go?” gasped Ray. 


DOGGIE 


37 


“ No, I’ll keep him here tonight if Mrs. 
Gray will let you stay. Run along and 
ask her now.” 

Ray jumped up quickly, and the dog 
whimpered when he saw her about to leave 
him. She was not gone long, but return- 
ed with her nightgown under her arm. 

The dog’s tail went tat-tat-tat on the 
chair as a welcome; and Ray said delight- 
edly: “ Doggie’s glad I’m back, so he must 
love me, don’t you think?” 

“ I am sure that he does. He has kept 
up a little whimper under his breath, the 
whole time you were away. I see you can 
stay. Was Mrs. Gray perfectly willing?” 

“ Just at first,” said Ray slowly, “ she 
didn’t like to think that the dog was giv- 
ing you such a bother, but after she scold- 
ed me some, she said I could come.” 

Mrs. Lester looked at the girl in sur- 
prise. She was contrasting in her own 
mind how much more just Ray had been 
in regard to Mrs. Gray, than Mrs. Gray 
had been to her; and she even found her- 
self resenting the calling of Ray obstinate. 


38 


RAY’S REWARD 


As the lights were turned on by this 
time, Ray saw a couch and begged to be 
allowed to sleep on it, without giving Mrs. 
Lester the trouble of having another bed 
placed in the room. 

Later when they were looking more 
closely at the dog, Mrs. Lester said : “ I 
think one of his legs is broken.” 

“ Oh, poor Doggie! ” wailed Ray. 

“That can be set all right,” consoled 
Mrs. Lester. “ Did you see how he was 
hurt?” 

“ The heavy stone struck him.” 

“ Did it fall on him from somewhere? ” 

“ No, Will threw it at him.” 

Mrs. Lester sat upright in her chair. 

“Do you mean to tell me, Ray, that 
Mrs. Gray’s own son injured this poor dog, 
and by his cruelty brought suffering to it 
and anxiety to all of us, and she has blam- 
ed you and called you obstinate? ” 

Her eyes were blazing. 

“ I supposed she had told you that Will 
did it,” said Ray. 

“ She did not,” exclaimed Mrs. Lester. 


DOGGIE 


39 


“ I thought that you had just come across 
a dog that was crying and obstinately in- 
sisted upon carrying it here. But listen to 
me, Ray: tomorrow morning I will have 
the leg looked at and set if necessary; then 
I will have him boxed and sent to Rome, 
to a friend who will see that he is taken 
good care of until I get there. I am going 
in a few days, and then my friend and I 
will see that it finds a home; and it will 
owe it all to you.” 

“How good you are! how wonderful! — 
but I’m sorry you have to go away. Will 
I see you when we get to Rome? ” 

“ No, because I am going to meet my 
business manager in Milan. I have a villa 
in Lucerne, and there are some things to be 
attended to before I go there in August.” 

“ Then won’t I ever see you again? ” 

“ Yes, because I have made up my mind 
to be in Venice when you are all there. I 
don’t consider that any one of your party 
can make you enjoy it as the old man’s 
will intended that you should. He evident 
ly meant to give you the time of your life, 


40 


RAY’S REWARD 


and it is somebody’s duty to see that you 
get it. I don’t know that it is mine, ex- 
cept that I see no chance of your having 
it with that selfish woman and those cruel 
boys; and perhaps no one else will look 
after you — so I am going to, that’s all.” 

“ You are so good, so good. I’m glad 
you’ll be there — that’s a lot of blue sky; 
and Doggie is to be taken care of — that’s 
a whole lot more — everything is so much 
brighter and I’m so happy — so monstrous 
happy ! Oh, you can’t ever know how glad 
you’ve made me! ” 

When Ray was put to bed on the couch 
with the dog on the chair close beside, her 
last plea before she fell asleep was for him : 

“When you look for a home for Doggie,” 
she said wistfully, “do you suppose you 
could find one where some one would love 
him just a little? ” 

The tears came into the woman’s eyes 
as she realized the heart-hunger of the 
child, who, in her plea for the lonely dog, 
was unconsciously showing her own lone- 
ly, unloved condition. 


DOGGIE 


41 


When Mrs. Lester opened her eyes at 
dawn, she saw the dog close beside Ray on 
the couch, where he had crawled from the 
chair without a whimper of pain, to be 
nearer the only friend he knew. 


IV 


THE FAIRY CITY 

W hen the day came that Ray was to 
arrive in Venice, that wonderful 
city of her dream-fancies, she was 
very silent, living in a world apart from 
the others. 

She scarcely heard Mrs. Gray say to 
Beth: “ I don’t want you to behave again 
in the silly way you did at the Blue Grot- 
to. You know that I had a nice note from 
Mrs. Lester, asking me to let her know 
when we would reach Venice. She took a 
great fancy to you on the steamer coming 
over, and when she asked you to go into 
the Blue Grotto with her, you should have 
done so. She is very rich and it is a great 
opportunity for me to get in with her. It 
would be a big advantage if we could keep 
up the acquaintance when we get back to 
New York. See that you do everything 
42 


THE FAIRY CITY 


43 


that she asks you to do; for it must he her 
fancy for you that has made her follow us 
up like this. I wish that she would invite 
you to visit her at her villa in Lucerne; it 
would be a splendid thing for you to talk 
about all of your life.” 

When the train stopped, it was with a 
beating heart that Ray walked out from 
the station. 

“Why — ee — ee!” she exclaimed. “We 
walk out of the station like any other city, 
and down the stairs right into the water, 
’cause that’s the street.” 

“ Then we take a gondola,” cried Beth, 
dancing up and down, “because that is a 
Venice street-car.” 

“There is dear Mrs. Lester,” said Mrs. 
Gray. “How delightful to meet you the 
very first thing.” 

“I came to meet you in the gondola I 
have hired for my use while here; and I 
am going to take Ray in with me, with 
your permission.” 

“ How thoughtful of you! Of course it 
will crowd us less for her to go with you, 


44 


BAY’S BE WARD 


if you are sure that you will not mind.” 

With assurances that she really wish- 
ed it, Mrs. Lester led Bay to her gondola, 
where two gondoliers stood ready. 

While they were seating themselves 
among soft, silken cushions, Mrs. Lester 
said: “Now what is the very first thing 
that your seeing me makes you think of ? ” 
“Doggie!” replied Ray readily. 

“I thought so. Well in order that you 
may give your entire attention to Venice, 
I must relieve your mind on that subject 
first. Doggie is well and has a good home; 
is well fed; well washed; and the man who 
has him in charge has grown fond of him. 
He told me that he was the smartest dog 
that he ever saw. So now you have good 
news to start seeing Venice with.” 

Mrs. Lester again saw in Bay’s eyes 
the expression that made them really beau- 
tiful, a look of devoted gratitude. 

“ Now Bay,” she hastened to say, “ you 
have arrived in your dream-city. How do 
you like gliding over the water in a gon- 
dola? And just watch how graceful and 


THE FAIRY CITY 


45 


expert the gondoliers are. We are going to 
turn into a narrower water street now, and 
you can notice how skilfully they manage.” 

“They can’t ever turn in that short 
space, so why do they try?” asked Ray; 
then she gave a little cry as another gon- 
dola appeared in the opposite direction, 
and she looked for a collision. 

Mrs. Lester laughed at Ray’s sigh of 
relief when the two gondolas safely passed 
each other, and theirs turned into a broad- 
er thoroughfare. 

“ I’m glad we got out of that.” 

“There are plenty of others which are 
just as narrow,” said Mrs. Lester; but after 
awhile you will not even notice when we 
pass so closely to other gondolas in narrow 
places, because you will find that they 
never touch each other. It is facinating 
to watch how gracefully and easily they 
do it.” 

Thus reassured Ray began to look at 
the palaces all along their route, and to 
notice that the front steps came right 
down into the water. 


46 


RAY’S REWARD 


“What are those poles sticking out of 
the water for?” she inquired. 

“ They are to fasten gondolas to.” 

“ Oh yes,” added Ray, “and where there 
are three or four it’s to fasten the gondo- 
las of the people who come to call, don’t 
you suppose? Isn’t it cute and different 
from any place ever?” 

If Ray was pleased on her arrival, it 
was nothing to the enchantment she ex- 
perienced when Mrs. Lester took her out 
that night. 

It was indeed like a dream-city with 
white palaces rising from the water, and 
the moon flooding them with soft light. 

“Where does that lovely singing come 
from?” asked Ray. 

“ From far and near,” replied Mrs. Les- 
ter. It is by Italian singers in the gondo- 
las, and we will pass some of them, and 
others will pass us, for the Grand Canal is 
the evening promenade of Venice.” 

For an hour they glided up and down 
the wonderful waterway; then they landed 
on St. Mark’s Square, where Ray was fair- 


THE FAIRY CITY 47 

ly dazzled by its many pyramids of lights 
all ablaze. 

“ Oh, it is a fairy city! ” she whispered 
rapturously. “ I can’t talk out loud ’cause 
it might break the fairy spell, and then the 
whole city would disappear. That must be 
a king’s palace with its lace work arches. 
And oh, look! Do look at that beau-ti-ful 
church! One-two-three-four-five! It’s got 
five gold domes! It must be built of pre- 
cious stones; it glistens like it was!” 

“ Now we will sit down at one of these 
tables,” said Mrs. Lester, “and watch the 
crowds of people passing, and eat an ice.” 

“ Are you going to treat me to ice- 
cream?” asked Ray wonderingly. 

“Why to be sure. Is there anything 
wonderful in that?” 

“It’s the first time anybody ever did.” 

“Have you never tasted ice-cream?” 

“ Yes, we have it Thanksgiving and at 
Christmas, but that’s much different. No- 
body ever invited me to have ice-cream 
with them, like other people have it, who 
don’t live at orphanages.” 


48 


KAY’S REWARD 


Mrs. Lester felt as though tears had 
actually got into her throat and she could 
scarcely eat the ice when it was before her. 

When they finished they looked in the 
windows of the shops surrounding the huge 
square; and it amused Mrs. Lester to hear 
Ray’s delight in the pretty things she saw, 
and the way she would choose things say- 
ing: “ That is mine — I choose that — what 
do you choose?” 

Mrs. Lester saw that it served as a fas- 
cinating game to Ray, so she entered into 
it to give pleasure. Sometimes it took quite 
a time for Ray to decide. She was just as 
careful about it as though the thing that 
she chose was really to be her own. 

It made Mrs. Lester realize as never 
before, how hard it was for a child to have 
no personal belongings; only the things 
that every one else possessed in common 
with her. She saw that for Ray, the only 
things dear to her heart that she owned, 
were those that she gave herself in imagi- 
nation. 

The whole evening was a never-to-be- 


THE FAIRY CITY 


49 


forgotten one for Ray. She seenled to be 
living in a veritable fairy-land. 

When it was over Mrs. Lester ptit the 
sleepy child to bed in her own room; for 
she had asked to have Ray with her over 
that night, much to Mrs. Gray’s surprise. 
But her surprise would have been much 
greater, had she known that the reason 
why Mrs. Lester wished to keep Ray with 
her, was because she did not wish anything 
to spoil the girl’s first experience of the 
dream-city. 

Ray’s first words on awakening were: 
“ I had a beau-ti-ful dream! I was really 
and truly in Venice — it was more perfect 
than I ever thought it would be — why, 
Mrs. Lester! you were in the dream too — 
oh! then it wasn’t all a dream! you did 
meet us and took me about, and treated me 
to ice-cream, and we chose lovely things in 
the shop windows!” 

“ Yes, dear, we are really and truly in 
Venice. Jump up and come to the window. 
There, you see we are right on the Grand 
Canal. And we will have our breakfast out 


50 


RAY’S REWARD 


on the balcony, at a little table all to our- 
selves; and after that you must go back to 
Mrs. Gray. I am going to give you a little 
present of some Italian money so that you 
can buy something you want in one of the 
shop windows. I think that you will enjoy 
choosing something for yourself and buy- 
ing it, more than if I bought something 
for you.” 

Ray’s eyes had the expression in them 
which Mrs. Lester was beginning to recog- 
nize as beautiful; and her voice also was 
very sweet as she inquired: “ Do you mean 
I can buy anything I want with it? Is it 
to be my really own money to do as I like 
with?” 

“ Yes, you must get whatever you want 
most that the amount of money will buy; 
only I hope that you will show me what 
you choose.” 

When lunch time came Mrs. Lester was 
so much interested to learn what Ray had 
bought for herself when the opportunity 
had been given her, that she was in the 
dining-room before the others appeared. 


THE FAIRY CITY 


51 


All during the morning, she had been 
wondering which of the many things that 
Ray had admired in the shop windows, 
would be the special choice. She was rath- 
er inclined to think that it would be a 
string of bright beads, as they seemed to 
hold Ray’s attention with the most persist- 
ent facination. When Ray slipped into the 
chair next to hers at the table, she waited 
eagerly for the desired information, which 
was immediately forthcoming. 

“I had the most fun!” Ray whispered. 
“ I never had such a lot of silver to spend 
before. We went into lots of shops, and at 
last I got exactly what we wanted; and 
just to think — I paid for it with my own 
money.” 

“I wonder whether I can guess. Is it 
something to wear?” 

“ You’ve guessed! you’ve guessed!” 

“ Is it round like a circle when it is fas- 
tened?” 

“ Part right and part wrong. It’s round 
but it don’t fasten. I can’t wait any longer 
to tell you: it’s a new straw hat for Will.” 


52 


KAY’S REWARD 


Mrs. Lester gasped the words after her: 

U A — new — straw — hat — for — Will! 

Why I told you to get the thing that you 
most wanted for yourself.” 

“ That was it. I just couldn’t bear to see 
Will unhappy because he didn’t have a 
nice hat like Jack’s; 'and I kept wishing 
somebody would make him a present of 
one; hut I never dreamed it could be me. 
When I was so happy here, I felt sorry 
that he didn’t enjoy having to wear that 
cap of his. I was told I might get the 
thing I most wanted with the money, and 
that was it. Are you not pleased? Have 
I done wrong?” 

“No, no, you did perfectly right; you 
were to spend the money in the way that 
you liked best; only I rather expected that 
you would buy something for yourself.” 

“ Why so it was for me. I had been wish- 
ing that Will could have a nice straw hat 
in place of the one that he lost in the Blue 
Grotto; and so I was so glad when I could 
get it for him my own self.” 

Mrs. Lester saw that the opportunity 


THE FAIRY CITY 


53 


of giving was more precious to Ray, than 
in gaining something for herself. But she 
decided to take the matter into her own 
hands. 

She invited Ray and Beth to have an 
ice with her in St. Mark’s Square, and then 
afterwards took them to one of the shops 
where strings of beads were displayed. She 
told them to choose either coral or blue. 

“ Which do you like best, Ray?” said 
Beth. 

“ I like the blue.” 

“ So do I, and I’m going to choose blue; 
but I’ve said it first, so I think you might 
take the coral. I don’t think we’d like 
them nearly so well if we had them alike.” 

Ray looked surprised and Mrs. Lester 
indignant. 

“ Will you take the coral if I take the 
blue?” persisted Beth. 

“ I — don’t — know,” Ray replied slowly 
while her gaze wandered to another part 
of the shop. 

Mrs. Lester noticing this said quickly: 
“ Is there something else you see, that you 


54 


RAY’S REWARD 


would rather have than the beads? Tell 
me if there is.” 

“If I could have that little gondola, I’d 
rather have it than anything.” 

“I will get it for you; but you are sure 
that you would rather have it than a string 
of beads?” 

“Oh, yes, I’d truly rather, because it 
would mean more really Venice.” 

While Mrs. Lester was counting the 
change, she caught the words that Beth 
intended only for Ray’s ear: 

“ I intend telling Mother that you chose 
something more expensive than Mrs. Les- 
ter offered us. I saw that she paid more 
for your gondola than my beads; now then 
I know she’ll be displeased with you, but 
maybe she won’t punish you, because she 
don’t expect a charity orphan to have real 
refined manners.” 

Mrs. Lester looked in amazement at 
Beth, whose whole expression showed an- 
ger and spite. She asked herself if this 
could be the beautiful girl to whom she 
had taken such a fancy. Then she remem- 


THE FAIRY CITY 


55 


bered Ray’s eyes when they expressed loy- 
al gratitude for every slight kindness. 

“Alas,” she told herself, “I saw only 
the beauty on the outside in Beth, but I 
am learning to see the beauty on the in- 
side, of Ray.” 

She was too angry with Beth to trust 
herself to speak, especially when she saw 
Ray’s quivering lips, and her eyes full of 
tears. 

“ Mrs. Lester,” she said with trembling 
voice, “I didn’t know about the gondola 
costing more than the beads; I never tho’t 
about what either of them cost.” 

“ I know that you would not dear. I 
know that your feelings are too refined to 
pry into what a gift cost. I am surprised 
that Beth does not know any better than 
to do so. I heard what she whispered to 
you, and if I told her mother I am sure she 
would feel that Beth needed punishing.” 

“ Oh please don’t tell Mother,” begged 
Beth in alarm; “she’d be so angry.” 

“ I think that she would have a right to 
be. If you were my daughter I should be 


56 


RAY’S REWARD 


ashamed of your action. Now to make sure 
that you will attempt no more mischief 
you can go outside and wait for us. I wish 
to speak to Ray alone.” 

When the crestfallen Beth left them, 
Mrs. Lester turned to Ray, saying gently: 
“ Are you quite sure that you do not want 
some blue beads like Beth chose? or did 
you take the gondola because of what Beth 
said about not wanting you both to have 
beads alike?” 

“ I truly would rather have the gondola 
’cause it’s more really Venice; and ever 
since I said good-by to Tessie and she cried 
’caus I would see Venice and she couldn’t, 
I kept making believe that I was going to 
take her something — and now here it is.” 

“ Do you mean to tell me, Ray, that the 
gondola-toy is not for yourself at all?” 

“ Yes, it is for me. I’m going to take it 
to the Orphanage for Tessie ’cause it’s the 
next best thing to seeing a real gondola — 
it’s the cutest thing!” 

Mrs. Lester laughed aloud — she could 
not help it. 


THE FAIRY CITY 


57 


Ray said anxiously: “ Are you laugh- 
ing at me?” 

“ No indeed, Ray, I am laughing at my- 
self. Twice today I have tried to make you 
a present and have failed; but I shall suc- 
ceed yet, in spite of you, before I leave 
Venice.” 

Ray looked puzzled. 

“ Would you rather I took the beads 
for Tessie?” 

“ No, no, you sweet, quaint child. Keep 
on being your own sweet self, and perhaps 
I can, in time, learn the lesson that the 
greatest pleasure in possession is the pow- 
er to give, instead of to have. It will not 
be an easy lesson for me, or one quickly 
learned; but I have had a strong lesson 
today, in your unselfishness.” 


V 


THE VENETIAN FETE 

“ h,” said Ray ecstatically, on the 

I 1 night of the Venetian midsummer 
fete, “ I never supposed anything 
real could be so wonderful as tonight. I 
used to think nothing but make-believes 
could be the best ever, but now the real 
Venice is better than anything that I ever 
knew how to make believe. Maybe every- 
thing is like that, only I never knew it.” 

A gondola, which held Mrs. Gray and 
the two boys, was just ahead of the one in 
which sat Mrs. Lester and the girls on this 
wonderful night of the Fete of the Reden- 
tore, which was celebrated in Venice on the 
third Sunday of July every year. 

Crowds of tourists had arrived to wit- 
ness it, and Italian peasants came from far 
and near. A pontoon bridge had been 
thrown across the Grand Canal for the one 
58 


THE VENETIAN FETE 


59 


night; the next morning it would be gone. 
The Giudecca Canal was now filled with 
gondolas and barges of every description. 
The barges were all gaily decorated, as a 
handsome prize was to be awarded for the 
best design. 

One which had just passed was Ray’s 
choice; she declared that it must win the 
prize. This one had an arbor covered with 
vines; and festooned all over it were many 
lighted lanterns shaped like lilies. It look- 
ed like a fairy-garden moving across the 
water. 

Each barge contained a table set for 
the occupants’ supper, which they take at 
midnight, as they spend the night on the 
water; and about two o’clock all move to- 
ward the Lido to salute the rising sun. 
When it grew dark enough, brilliant fire- 
works were set off, making the scene even 
more dazzling. 

“ Boats, boats, everywhere!” said Ray. 
“ There are so many coming both ways a- 
round us, that you wouldn’t believe there 
could be any more left.*’ 


60 


BAY’S REWARD 


“I see hundreds way off,” said Beth, 
“ that look like fireflies on the water.” 

“ There’s so much to see,” added Ray, 
“ that I can’t look enough places at once. 
0 see that sky-rocket! And what — in — 
the world — is that? Look! Mrs. Lester! 
Look over there! Look Beth! Where it was 
all dark a minute ago there’s now a giant’s 
crown. He must have taken it off and 
throw it on the water. It’s made of dia- 
monds and rubies — listen — listen! There’s 
fairy-music in it!” 

Even Mrs. Lester was, for a moment, 
startled by seeing what Ray described. 
There indeed had suddenly appeared, rest- 
ing on the water, a huge crown, which for 
a moment she thought must be another 
fireworks design, but she was informed by 
a gondolier that it was a music-pavilion 
built on barges in the form of a great 
crown, and made brilliant by the various 
colored lights which represented precious 
stones. It certainly added to the wonderful 
beauty and fascinating strangeness of this 
most unique festival. 


THE VENETIAN FETE 


61 


“ Nothing could make it more really, 
truly fairy-land/’ said Kay in a whisper of 
perfect content. “ Nothing could ” 

“ Not even a fairy-gift?” asked Mrs. Les- 
ter; “ because I have one for you right in 
my hand.” 

“For me?” said Kay with wondering 
surprise in her blue eyes. 

“ Yes,” replied Mrs. Lester, “ and I will 
tell you why it is a fairy-gift. It is only to 
be given to a person on the night of this 
festival and while they are on the water. 
The person to whom it is given is obliged 
to keep it, and wear it herself, whoever it 
may be, and tonight, Kay, you are the one.” 

And with a quick gesture Mrs. Lester 
clasped something around Kay’s neck. 

Kay’s hands flew up to it and she ex- 
claimed: “It’s a chain! a beau-ti-ful blue 
bead chain ! ” 

Beth leaned over to examine it and 
then said: “It’s not like the one I chose. 
I think mine is the prettiest.” 

“It is fortunate that you are so easily 
pleased,” said Mrs. Lester coldly, “as your 


62 


KAY’S REWARD 


beads are merely blue stones, while Ray’s 
necklace is made of genuine blue turquois, 
with a clasp of gold.” 

When the evening’s experience was 
over, and Mrs. Lester had gone to her room, 
Beth could contain her envy no longer. 

“What do you suppose Ray has made 
Mrs. Lester give her now, Mother? ” 

“What do you mean, Beth?” 

“ Why, a turquois necklace with a real 
gold clasp — look at it on Ray’s neck.” 

“ Let me look at it,” said Mrs. Gray, 
much displeased/* Why here are some words 
engraved on the clasp: Venice and the 
date — and what is that in the corner there? 
to A bay. You have no ‘a’ in your name. 
What does it mean?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“ Well I suppose that you must keep it 
now that Mrs. Lester has had your name 
engraved on it, but you cannot accept an- 
other thing from her; and you must learn 
not to ask people for things ” 

“ 0 Mrs. Gray, I didn’t; indeed I didn’t.” 

“You asked for the gondola; Beth told 


THE VENETIAN FETE 


63 


me so; and now, in some way, you have 
managed to make Mrs. Lester give you 
this handsome necklace. For my part I 
think that if you had any proper feeling, 
you would feel ashamed to wear it, when 
Beth has only a string of beads; because 
you must have said something against 
Beth to get into favor yourself. You know 
well enough what a fancy Mrs. Lester took 
to Beth in the first place, and now she 
hardly notices her at all.” 

“Oh, Mrs. Gray,” said Bay, with quiv- 
ering lips; “ please, please don’t say such 
things — oh, you can’t think them — no, I 
never tried to make her give me things — 
I never thought of it — each time it was 
such a surprise — I know she didn’t like me 
at first, but I feel she does now — some- 
times it almost seems as if she was going 
to love me ” 

“I suppose you make believe to love 
her, too!” 

“ That isn’t make believe,” said Ray soft- 
ly, “ ’cause I love her better than anybody 
in the whole, wide world.” 


64 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ Well, that is a pretty thing to say,” 
snorted Beth. “It isn’t very ladylike to say 
that to my Mother, when she took the 
trouble to bring you along with us; and 
you have been like her own child for weeks. 
How dare you say that you love a stran- 
ger better.” 

“Never mind, Beth,” said Mrs. Gray; 
“ I never expect gratitude from a girl in 
Ray’s position.” 

Turning to Ray, she continued: “You 
understand; I do not expect any obstinacy 
on this point. I forbid you to accept any- 
thing more from Mrs. Lester. You can wear 
the necklace while we are in Europe, and 
then if you really wish to show gratitude 
when we return to New York, you can give 
it to Beth; as they do not permit jewelry 
to be worn at the Orphanage.” 

This idea made Ray’s pillow wet with 
tears that night, and she felt that Mrs. Les- 
ter was the only one who could solve the 
problem for her; so she hastened, at the 
first opportunity, to place the question 
before her. 


THE VENETIAN FETE 


65 


“ I can’t wear my necklace at the Or- 
phanage/’ began Ray, “and you said that 
I couldn’t give it away.” 

“ Oh, Ray, Ray ! So you want to give 
that away too?” 

“No! no indeed!” with a vigorous shake 
of her head; “that’s just it. You know I 
can’t ever give my fairy-gift away; but 
Mrs. Gray said last night they wouldn’t 
let any of us wear jewelry at the Orphan- 
age; and I wondered whether you’d mind 
keeping it for me at your house, until I 
could have it again sometime.” 

“ You shall keep it yourself, Ray. I will 
see the directors, and if there is no other 
way, I will give them an endowment. You 
are quite a valuable investment to that 
institution, if you but knew it, dear little 
Ray — oh, good morning, Mrs. Gray.” 

“Good morning, Mrs. Lester; you must 
not let Ray become troublesome, running 
after you; she does not understand that 
she might sometimes be in the way. I have 
explained to Beth that she must not dis- 
turb you, except when you especially in- 


66 


RAY’S REWARD 


vite her to go with you. I am so grateful 
for the pleasures you have given the chil- 
dren, and the lovely souvenirs. I hardly 
knew what to say about permitting Ray to 
accept such an expensive present; but I 
did not want to be unkind ” 

“Of course, Mrs. Gray, I perfectly un- 
derstand that you would not wish to deny 
her any pleasure, when her life has been 
without the things which your daughter 
has always been able to have. As to the 
necklace, let your mind rest easy on that 
score. I take the entire responsibility in 
regard to it, and will write to the directors 
and let them know my wishes in regard 
to it. By the way, did you happen to 
notice what I ordered engraved on it?” 

“Yes.” 

“ Perhaps you wondered what the words 
to a ray meant? They mean that the 
necklace is given to this dear child, because 
she has proved to be a ray of light in a 
dark time of shadows. She has helped me 
to look away from self, in thinking unself- 
ishly of others. She has taught me the joy 


THE VENETIAN FETE a 

of giving; and thus I have learned to take 
pleasure in the power that wealth gives 
me to help others. Her name is an appro- 
priate one. It is difficult for me to pay the 
debt that I owe her; but I am going to ask 
a favor of you. I leave Venice tomorrow 
and will soon return to my villain Lucerne. 
Having fulfilled your contract in bringing 
Ray to Venice, now let me have her for a 
couple of weeks as my guest. I promise to 
return her myself wherever you are at the 
end of that time.” 

“ It is very kind of you, Mrs. Lester, but 
I could not think of letting you have such 
a care.” 

“ I am entirely selfish in this, Mrs. Gray, 
as I cannot bear to leave my little Ray of 
light behind me. I want her with me very 
much and I trust that you will not disap- 
point me so greatly as to compel me to go 
away without her.” 

Mrs. Gray was silent and perplexed. 
She was anxious to keep on good terms 
with Mrs. Lester; she certainly would like 
to do her a favor; but she had so hoped 


68 


RAY’S REWARD 


that her striking fancy for Beth would 
grow stronger; and now it seemed that in 
some way, this unattractive looking girl 
had taken the place in the lonely woman’s 
heart, which she coveted for Beth. She 
felt sure that her beautiful Beth would 
win Mrs. Lester’s affections easily, if giv’n 
the opportunity; but how to give it to her 
was the puzzling question. She knew Mrs. 
Lester by reputation; also that she was 
quite alone in the world; and that she had 
the disposal of her wealth as she saw fit. 
If she grew deeply attached to Beth, the 
prospect might become quite dazzling. 

At last Mrs. Gray spoke deliberately: 
“ I am most anxious to do as you wish, 
dear Mrs. Lester, but it puts me in rather 
an awkard position. I do not feel that I 
ought to separate the two girls. Beth’s 
trip would be quite spoiled if I ventured 
to tell her that Ray was going to leave 
her; and Ray would not like to leave Beth, 
would you, Ray?” 

“ I would leave everybody that I ever 
knew, to go with Mrs. Lester anywhere,” 


THE VENETIAN FETE 


69 


answered Ray quite simply, as she slipped 
her hand within Mrs. Lester’s. 

Mrs. Lester squeezed her hand loving- 
ly; while Mrs. Gray was vexed with her- 
self for having given Ray an opportunity 
to make a good impression. 

“ I am very sorry,” continued Mrs. Gray, 
“ but I cannot have the girls separated.” 

“In that case,” said Mrs. Lester, “will 
you let them both make me a visit?” 

Which being exactly what Mrs. Gray 
had planned, she quickly agreed to that 
arrangement. 


VI 


AQUA VISTA 

“ y y ere is Villa Aqua Vista at last,” 
I I said Mrs. Lester, as the carriage 
turned into a gateway. “1 think 
that it is well named as it means, water 
view. See the glimpses we catch of the 
blue lake below us; and beyond are the 
snow capped mountains. I want you both 
to enjoy your visit with me in my Lucerne 
home. We will take trips on the lake; and 
drives; and you can play tennis on the 
Rose Terrace. Suppose that we get out 
here at the stable, as the winding foot-path 
is the prettiest approach to the house. You 
get out first, Beth, as you are nearest to 
the door.” 

As Beth stepped from the carriage, a 
little dog darted from the stable and sniff- 
ed at her feet, then at her skirts, which 
however did not appear satisfactory. 

70 


AQUA VISTA 


71 


As Ray stepped out he sniffed at her 
shoes, and his tail wagged slowly at first, 
as though hopeful but uncertain; he sniff- 
ed more and the tail wagged faster and 
faster. Then as though satisfied, he jump- 
ed up against her to attract attention; and 
seeing him then for the first time, she 
stooped down, exclaiming: 

“It’s never Doggie!” 

“He is giving you a warm welcome if 
it is not Doggie,” smiled Mrs. Lester. 

“Doggie — Doggie darling,” cried Ray. 
“ I never, never expected to see you again. 
But he looks so different! And look, he’s 
so frisky!” 

“He is washed regularly and has his 
hair brushed. He is well fed instead of be- 
ing nearly starved; and we think that he 
has such a cute expression that we rather 
like his looks now.” 

“ He’s just too dear for anything!” cried 
Ray, squeezing him tightly. “But wasn’t 
it too perfect of him to remember me? ” 

“Jean declares that he is the smartest 
dog that he ever saw; and he tells me that 


72 


RAY’S REWARD 


Doggie is always hunting for some one. 
If he sees a little girl way off down the 
road, he scampers after her. He never runs 
after hoys, but always after girls; and Jean 
believes that he has been hunting, ever 
since he came here, for one particular little 
girl; who was probably the first friend that 
he ever had; and it looks as though he had 
found her at last.” 

Mrs. Lester started up the picturesque 
path with the little girls, while the dog 
ran beside Ray, leaping up and down a- 
gainst her heels as she walked. 

“ What is his name?” asked Beth. 

“ He has always gone by the name that 
Ray affectionately called him,” responded 
Mrs. Lester. 

“ Do you allow him to follow us into the 
house?” asked Ray when they reached the 
villa. 

“ Wherever you wish, he can go. While 
you remain here, he is your own dog.” 

Beth was becoming impatient, as she 
always did when some one else was receiv- 
ing too much attention. She was trying 


AQUA VISTA 


73 


to be on her best behavior, as her mother 
had lectured her on the necessity of mak- 
ing Mrs. Lester fond of her. 

Mrs. Lester, upon reaching the villa, 
gave the two girls in charge of a capable 
maid, telling them that after they were 
washed and dressed for dinner, which was 
at seven o’clock, they could play tennis 
until that hour with her neighbor’s two 
boys. She would lie down to rest after 
her journey. 

The girls were all eagerness to hurry 
down to the Rose Terrace, where they 
could see the boys playing on the court. 

Beth gave her golden curls an extra 
toss as they reached the boys; and she 
glanced with a pleased smile at the plain 
girl by her side, and thought how pretty 
she must look in comparison. The taller 
boy came forward, and, with only a glance 
at Beth, stretched out his hand to Ray. 

“Say, you’re Ray, aren’t you? We’re 
awfully glad you’ve come, Tom and I. We 
heard all about how bully you were about 
the dog, haven’t we, Tom? ” 


74 


BAY’S BE WARD 


“ You bet,” he said, grinning. 

“ How do you know that she’s Bay ? ” 
asked Beth, very much displeased at being 
totally ignored, while Bay was getting the 
honors. 

“ Doggie told us,” laughed Ernest. “We 
have always been some cheese with him 
before, but he only wags his tail at us now. 
He doesn’t dare to move away from Bay’s 
shoe, for fear he’ll lose her again. Say,” 
he continued, turning to Bay again, “don’t 
you wan’t to play a game? You and I’ll 
play Tom and the other girl.” 

The other girl, indeed ! Beth was get- 
ting angry at having to take a second place, 
but consoled herself that Ernest would get 
a poor player for a partner and be sorry 
for it; and the next time he would know 
enough to ask her. 

“ Come over here,” said Tom. “What’s 
your name?” 

“Elizabeth Gray, but I’m called Beth, 
and we can beat them all to pieces. Bay 
never played tennis in her life.” 

“That’s rough on Ern; he hardly ever 


AQUA VISTA 75 

loses a game. Won’t we get a rise out of 
him ? ” 

The game had not proceeded far when 
Ray, making a rush after a ball, was fol- 
lowed so closely by Doggie that he tripped 
her, and they rolled over together. When 
they were on their feet again, Ray’s clean 
white dress was streaked with green from 
the grass; her hands and face were dirty; 
and her hair had come unplaited, hanging 
in stiff, straight locks around her face. 
Beth decided that she had never looked so 
plain before. 

“ Are you hurt?” demanded both boys 
anxiously, and upon learning that she was 
not they proposed going on with the game. 

Ray looked at the stains on her dress 
and shook her head, saying: 

“ I hate to stop the game, but I’ll have 
to get cleaned up before dinner.” 

Tom exclaimed as she left them, “What 
rot ! ” because he wished for the opportun- 
ity of defeating Ernest. 

“Well,” said Beth, “I wouldn’t break 
up a game because I was getting beaten.” 


76 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ Oh, you don’t think ” began Tom. 

But Ernest interrupted: “ She’s the 
right sort. She wouldn’t do anything mean 
though I don’t see why she bothered about 
the way she looked.” 

The sound of soft toned musical bells, 
caused Tom to say: “ That’s dinner, and 
we’ve been invited to stay for it.” 

They found Mrs. Lester and Ray await- 
ing them. The green stains were still there 
but otherwise she was neat again. 

Beth was in high spirits and talked in 
cessantly. She could enter into all that in- 
terested boys, having two brothers of her 
own, while Ray knew very little about 
boys and their pastimes. 

Beth had taken a great fancy to the 
athletic Ernest, and was determined to 
make him like her. Throughout the dinner 
she talked to him, scarcely noticing any 
one else at the table. When the dinner 
was over and they went out on the balco- 
ny, it displeased her to see Ernest join Ray 
immediately, seating himself beside her on 
a low, swinging hammock. 


AQUA VISTA 


77 


“ I say,” said Ernest, “what did you 
bother about how you looked ? you know 
you broke up the game, and you liked 
playing, didn’t you ? ” 

“ I loved it,” said Ray with enthusiasm, 
“and I didn’t mind a bit how I looked; but 
you see, it was on account of Mrs. Lester.” 

“ She never scolds,” Ernest said. 

“ No, no — don’t you see that if she had 
a maid tidy us up and dress us for dinner, 
that was the way she wanted us to be ? 
and I wasn’t, you know, after I fell.” 

“Would you girls like to take a stroll 
down to the lake?” asked Mrs. Lester; “it 
is so beautiful by moonlight. The boys can 
come along if they wish; and Doggie also,” 
she added, as she saw Ray lift him out of 
the hammock, where he was contentedly 
nestling against her. 

The following afternoon the girls were 
early on the tennis grounds where the 
boys soon joined them. 

“Let’s play the same partners,” Tom 
suggested. The result being that he and 
Beth won most of the games. 


78 


RAY’S REWARD 


The next day the result was the same 
owing to Ray’s inexperience. The third 
day Tom said: “ Say, Ern, I’m willing to 
change partners. We aren’t evenly match- 
ed because Beth plays most as good a game 
as I do, and I’m not so far behind you.” 

Beth was delighted to have become of 
such importance, and anxious for the op- 
portunity of being Ernest’s partner. She 
started over to his side of the net. 

“ Not any,” he said, “ we keep right a- 
long with the same partners if Ray’s will- 
ing. I haven’t helped her to win much 
yet, but she’s new at it. I bet that by the 
end of the week, you two will be beaten 
so much that you’ll most forget you ever 
did win a game.” 

Ray looked her gratitude while she 
said: “ It doesn’t seem fair for me to keep 
you from getting a game, but you see I 
have always lived in New York; and I 
never held a racket in my hand before this, 
and it keeps turning around queer. You 
don’t mind — much, do you? I never ex- 
pected to be playing tennis like other boys 


AQUA YISTA 


79 


and girls. This is like a dream — on this 
lovely terrace, and you so kind.” 

“ c Like other boys and girls/ ” repeated 
Ernest. “ What do you mean by that? ” 

“ I live in the Orphanage, and we do 
everything by rule. The same thing at the 
same time every day; and I’ve just longed 
to do something different — but this sum- 
mer will last me a whole lifetime. Isn’t 
it great ! ” 

“ I think it’s jolly hard lines. Isn’t there 
anybody you could live with? ” 

“ I havn’t anybody in the world but the 
Orphanage people. I don’t belong to any- 
body, and I never had anybody that seem- 
ed to belong to me — before Mrs. Lester, 
and Doggie — and now you.” 

At these words Ernest felt the chival- 
rous instinct of protection spring within 
him for this lonely orphan who had thus 
counted him among her friends. 

“ I wish you could visit here longer,” he 
said; “but we’ll do all we can to make it 
jolly while you’re here. But say, is Beth 
an orphan, too?” 


80 


RAY’S REWARD 


“Oh, no, she has her mother and Jack 
and Will over here with her, and a father 
at home.” 

One morning, after this talk, Ernest 
drove up in his buckboard, as Mrs. Lester 
and the girls were gathering flowers in 
the garden. 

“Why, good morning,” said Mrs. Lester; 
“ we are not accustomed to a morning call 
from you, Ernest.” 

“ I’m going to teach Ray how to drive. 
She’d be crazy about it.” 

Ray gazed at Mrs. Lester as though 
pleading for this pleasure; while Beth tos’d 
her head, saying: “Well I think Ray might 
have asked Mrs. Lester if she’d mind.” 

“ Oh, drop that ! ” exclaimed Ernest im- 
patiently. “You’re always in a fuss about 
something. Ray never knew until this 
minute that I was going to teach her to 
drive. You’ll let her go with me, won’t 
you, Mrs. Lester ? ” 

“ Certainly, Ernest. I know that you 
will take good care of her, and I am sure 
that it will be quite a new experience for 


AQUA VISTA 


81 


her. So jump in Ray, here is your hat. 
But do look at Doggie; he is trying to 
jump in after you, and he cannot quite 
make it.” 

“ There,” said Ernest, giving the dog a 
helping hand; “now we’re ready to start.” 
And it would have been difficult to deter- 
mine whose was the happiest face as they 
drove out of sight. 


VII 


THE FIRE 

F or several days Beth had been contin- 
ually in a temper instead of enjoying 
her visit at the beautiful Villa; with 
the drives to the many places of interest; 
steamboat rides on the lake; and picnics 
in charming spots, to which Ernest and 
Tom were often invited. 

Her chief grievance was that Ernest 
almost ignored her, while he seemed never 
to weary of planning to give Ray pleasure. 
Then he was enthusiastic over Ray’s quick 
proficiency in learning to drive; and Beth 
had hoped that she would prove as poor 
at it as she had at tennis. 

Another cause of vexation was that 
Ernest had decided that as Ray did not get 
on at tennis, she might like something 
else better; and so the driving lessons were 
given twice a day, when Mrs. Lester had 
82 


THE FIRE 


83 


no other plans for the girls. Even Tom 
did not come over except with Ernest, or 
when there was a game of tennis on hand. 

Then in addition to all these things, 
Beth was not making any headway in the 
affections of Mrs. Lester. 

As she sat alone with her on the bal- 
cony watching Ernest and Ray teach Dog- 
gie tricks, on the terrace below, she said : 
“ I can’t see how Ray is willing to spend so 
much time away from you, dear Mrs. Les- 
ter, when she pretends to be so devoted to 
you. Why I can’t bear to think that we 
have to leave you in a few days. I just 
wish you could keep on travelling with us. 
We’ll all miss you dreadfully.” 

Mrs. Lester made no reply. 

Beth tried again: “ I don’t believe you 
care a bit for me, and I’m so fond of you. 

I believe you’ve been angry with me ever 
since I didn’t go into the Blue Grotto with 
you; but I’ve been sorry I didn’t, ever 
since.” 

“ You are quite mistaken, Beth, for I 
believe that I am more grateful to you for 


84 


RAY’S REWARD 


that than anything since. That was the 
first glimpse which I got of Ray’s sweet 
nature; or no, I believe that the very first 
was the talk which I had with her after 
we arrived at the hotel in Naples; but I 
had not begun to realize it then, although 
I have gone over that talk since; and more 
and more do I see what a wonderful girl 
she is.” 

“ I don’t see what there is wonderful in 
Ray, and Mother doesn’t either. She can’t 
understand why you’ve taken such a fancy 
to her; but she doesn’t think it can last 
when you find out how obstinate and un- 
grateful she can be.” 

“ That will do, Beth,” said Mrs. Lester, 
severely; the more you speak against Ray 
the less I like you; but you are my guest 
and I wish you to enjoy your visit, but I 
forbid you to say one more unkind thing 
about Ray. I think that you had better 
go to your room now, and think over what 
you have said, and see how uncalled-for it 
was, and how little you have gained by it.” 

A few moments later Ernest said good- 


THE FIRE 85 

night, and Ray took the seat made vacant 
by Beth’s departure. 

“ Where’s Beth ? ” she asked. 

“Gone to her room, darling, but you 
can sit with me a little longer.” 

“ Mrs. Lester,” said Ray, “ have you no- 
ticed that Beth seems not just real happy 
lately? I believe she’d like to drive in the 
buckboard, and I asked Ernest if he would 
take her some day.” 

“But you have only a few days more, 
Ray, and you enjoy it more than any- 
thing else.” 

“ I don’t enjoy it all of the time ’cause 
I keep thinking Beth is disappointed not 
to go.” 

“ You dear girl ! now that you have no 
presents to give away, you begin giving 
away your pleasures.” 

“ And I’ve said to Ernest that I would 
rather we played tennis again in the after- 
noons, ’cause Beth likes to.” 

“ Are you so fond of Beth? ” 

“ I don’t know about being fond really, 
but I like to have her happy; and I like 


86 


RAY’S REWARD 


to look at her, and make believe that I 
look like her.” 

“ Do you think that she would plan to 
make you happy, and give up her pleas- 
ures for you ? ” 

“ Why I never thought about that, tho’ 
she doesn’t do just the ways I think she 
should always — but she can’t know just 
the way I’d rather she’d do, maybe.” 

“Well, kiss me good-night now.” 

“ Good-night — and oh, I’m not going to 
tell Beth about the buckboard tomorrow. 
Ernest is going to drive over and ask her 
to go himself; ’cause I’m sure she’d like 
it that way best.” 

That night Ray kept having a trouble- 
some dream. She seemed to be fighting 
for her breath. She felt as though she 
would be suffocated, and all through the 
dream she kept hearing the barking of a 
dog. This became so insistent that at last 
she gave a start, and almost immediately 
recognized the fact that Doggie was jump- 
ing up and down against the bed, barking 
in a hoarse voice. 


THE FIRE 


87 


She could not just at once tell wheth- 
er she was awake or still dreaming; but 
the suffocating feeling continued, and the 
room was full of smoke. 

“ Beth!” she cried, springing out of bed. 
“ Beth ! Beth ! Get up ! — the house is on 
fire ! Hush, hush, Doggie — Beth, don’t 
scream like that ! What are we to do ! ” 

“ Let’s run down stairs, maybe — oh , Fm 
choking — maybe the stairs aren’t on fire — 

come — and — see ” 

“We must let everybody know,” said 
Ray, coughing as the smoke got into her 
throat. “ First — Mrs. Lester !” and she 
opened one of the doors leading to a pas- 
sage which must be crossed, and a short 
stairway ascended, before Mrs. Lester’s 
room could be reached. 

Beth was panic-stricken and kept hold- 
ing on to Ray’s nightgown, until she en- 
countered the rush of smoke from the hall, 
and saw flames encircling the railing of the 
stairway leading to Mrs. Lester’s room; 
then with a cry she sprang back, and ran 
to the opposite door of their room. 


88 


RAY’S REWARD 


Finding that the smoke was less dense 
there, she would have fled down stairs hut 
was afraid to venture alone, so she shrieked: 

“ This way, Ray — come, we can get out 
here ” 

“Mrs. Lester — if s almost to late for her 
to get — from — her — room — now — I've got 
to go for her — wont you carry Doggie f he l 
follow me — and — get burned .” 

“ Come back ! Come back ! Youll all be 

burned — you — cant — get — back a ” 

But Ray was mounting the stairway 
with the same disregard of self, that she 
showed in giving away gifts and pleasures 
to others, rather than in hoarding them 
for herself. She had not the time to think 
that she might never reach Mrs. Lester 
thru the blinding smoke, growing thicker 
every second. Nor had she remembered to 
wrap herself in a blanket, as she had been 
instructed to do in case of fire. Her only 
thought was of reaching Mrs. Lester, that 
she might warn her that the villa was on 
fire. 

As she stepped on the stairway, it was 


THE FIRE 


89 


so hot to her bare feet that involuntarily 
she recoiled, but only for a second, then 
she made a brave dash for the top, while 
her nightgown was caught by the flames. 
In a second she was in a blaze, and the 
smoke was in her eyes and throat. 

With a cry she felt herself falling and 
then she knew no more. 


VIII 


PARIS AMUSEMENTS 

u h tell us all about it!” cried Will 
I 1 Gray to Mrs. Lester, several weeks 
later in Paris. It was the day that 
Mrs. Lester had returned to their party 
bringing Ray; and they were occupying 
chairs on the beautiful promenade, the 
Champs Elysees. 

“ Have you not heard all about the fire 
from Beth long ago? ” 

“ Yes,” responded Will, “but she’s so ex- 
cited when she talks about it that mother 
always stops her. Besides she was so scared 
she hardly knows yet what did happen af- 
ter she saw Ray in a blaze of fire; and she 
ran like the mischief down stairs screaming 
at the top of her voice. I can’t see yet how 
Ray got off without being dreadfully burn- 
ed, when she fell in a faint and her night- 
gown was on fire.” 


90 


PARIS AMUSEMENTS 


91 


“ I will tell you exactly what occurred,” 
began Mrs. Lester; and Will called to bis 
brother: “Say, Jack, come over here; Mrs. 
Lester is going to tell us about the fire.” 

“ I was awakened by the barking of the 
dog ; and I wondered what caused him to 
keep on barking in the night, and why Ray 
did not stop him, as he slept in her room. 

“ Then, not feeling easy about it, I got 
up to listen, and opening my door, saw 
the flames rising from the floor, and cold 
shudders shook me as I saw a human figure 
at my feet , and Doggie licking the face of 
the prostrate girl. 

“ I dragged up a heavy rug, and the next 
instant had the girl and dog both rolled 
into it, and then dragged the whole bundle 
into my room and shut the door; as I had 
seen at a glance that there was no chance 
of escape any other way. 

“I must have opened the door just as 
Ray’s nightgown caught fire and she fell ; 
and the heavy rug, which put out the fire, 
was around her almost immediately. 

“When I unrolled the rug, and found 


92 


RAY’S REWARD 


that Ray was not seriously burned, I ran 
to my balcony window to see what chance 
there was for saving ourselves; as it was 
the only way possible to escape from the 
Villa, now that the stairway was cut off 
by the fire. 

“All was still. Evidently not a servant 
had yet been alarmed, and the balcony was 
too high for an escape from it to be pos- 
sible, unless ladders were brought to assist 
us. What was I to do? We were prisoners 
in a burning house; and I saw no way to 
save the unconscious girl who had risked 
her own life in the attempt to save mine. 

“ I carried her to the balcony and called 
for help. I could not even take time to re- 
store her, but the dog was doing his best 
by licking her face all over with his faith- 
ful, little tongue; although his hair was 
scorched and his little body burned in sev- 
eral places. 

“ I heard a roaring sound and saw that 
the fire had burst into my room. Then an 
idea struck me, and I hastily tore a sheet 
into long strips, tied them together, and 


PARIS AMUSEMENTS 


93 


then tying one end around the dog’s body 
lowered him to the ground, where his bar- 
king and howling, at being separated from 
Ray, roused the servants at once, as I in- 
tended it should. 

“ Things happened rapidly after this. 
There were cries and shouts; and soon a 
ladder from the stable was ready for us to 
descend; and by the time we were on the 
ground, Ray being still unconscious, it did 
seem to me that every one that I knew 
was around us. Ernest and Tom Rivers 
were leaning over Ray; and Mr. and Mrs. 
Rivers were insisting upon our going to 
their house at once. 

“ Men were at work putting out the fire, 
and I found myself weeping; not because 
the villa could not be saved, but at the 
sight of the dear, unconscious figure lying 
on the ground. 

“That precious Ray of light that had 
brightened my life, and who had willingly 
risked being extinguished to save me! She 
and Doggie had indeed saved me, and do 
you not suppose I am grateful that Ray 


94 


RAY’S REWARD 


came into my life — and that she brought 
Doggie into it too? ” 

Will’s face grew red. It was very un- 
pleasant for him to remember the way that 
he had first brought the dog into notice. 

Jack asked abruptly: “How could you 
get time to roll Ray into the rug and the 
dog too? ” 

“ I didn’t have to,” laughed Mrs. Lester. 
“ I just rolled Ray up, and the dog, being 
so close to her, simply rolled in at the same 
time. I did not think much about the 
poor little dog that night, all my thoughts 
were on Ray. She soon revived and was 
tenderly carried to the Rivers’ villa. Tom 
and Ernest attended to Doggie, and he is 
with them now. They were disconsolate 
when they had to say good-by to Ray; 
they could not be more attached to her, if 
she were their own sister. Mr. and Mrs. 
Rivers are also devoted to her. You know 
that they would not hear to our leaving 
them even after Ray was well enough to be 
moved, although I intended taking her to 
a hotel until she was ready to rejoin you.” 


PARIS AMUSEMENTS 


95 


“ Ray’s missed a lot of sightseeing,” said 
Will; “ why we’ve been all through Swit- 
zerland and Germany, while she’s been o- 
bliged to stay on at Lucerne.” 

“ And you only stayed one night there, 
I think it was, when you came with your 
mother to get Beth. It was such a relief 
when she wrote that she would come, be- 
cause I had promised to return the girls 
myself, and I did not like to leave Ray for 
even a few hours, and yet I would not have 
been satisfied to send any one with Beth, 
when your mother had trusted her in my 
care. Where have the girls been? Why 
is Ray running? What is it darling?” 

ic Come, come,” panted Ray, “it’s the 
cutest ever — a little, little theatre, like a 
doll house — come, or you’ll miss it — hur- 
ry — hurry — - — ” 

Mrs. Lester hurried, while the boys ran 
on ahead to where they saw a crowd was 
collected. 

As Mrs. Lester and Ray drew near Beth 
called: “Oh, Ray, you missed the best of 
all. The part you liked so much is all over; 


96 KAY’S REWARD 

why didn’t you just wait long enough for 
that?” 

“ I just couldn’t,” said Ray, squeezing 
the hand in hers. “I stood it just as long 
as I could; but that was too cute, and so I 
couldn’t stay another minute without go- 
ing for Mrs. Lester.” 

“ Much good that did. Now you’ve both 
missed it.” 

“ I’m just crying sorry. I thought that 
it would last longer, and we’d get back in 
time to see it.” 

“ I know,” said Mrs. Lester, “that the 
reason you are so sorry is not for yourself; 
it is because you could not get me here in 
time to enjoy the pleasure that you had 
given up that I might share it. However 
the little show will go on soon again, and 
when the people get up from the chairs 
in front, we will sit down and see it prop- 
erly, without having to stand outside the 
ropes and be pushed by the people.” 

“ Isn’t it the nicest little stage? and the 
cutest thing was a little figure just like the 
French dolls you see in windows, and it was 


PARIS AMUSEMENTS 


97 


dressed like a flower girl, and it danced — 
oh — cute — it was just too cute for any- 
thing. I don’t think it was a doll ’cause 
it was more like a little fairy dancing. I 
wonder how they could ever make it dance 
real dancing.” 

“ It is like a mechanical toy perhaps; but 
in Paris they do have such things to per- 
fection, and we must see it.” 

“ How can we have chairs, Mrs. Lester, 
when there are so few of them, and yet so 
many people standing around, that can get 
them before we can?” 

“ You will see, Ray, that when the tiny 
curtain falls, the crowd will melt away, 
going on to find some other amusement. 
They would not sit here patiently and wait 
for the same performance again.” 

“ But can they find another little theatre 
like this anywhere in the world?” 

“ Yes, they will find others right here in 
the Champs Elysees; also Punch and Judy 
shows.” 

“ What is that?” 

“ Did you never see Punch and Judy?” 


98 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ Never heard of it at the Orphanage.” 

“ Well, we must hunt one up. Now let 
us take seats. The chairs are quickly emp- 
tied, you see, and directly there will be 
only about a dozen people around.” 

“ Will they give the show to so few?” 

“ When it starts, another crowd will col- 
lect around the ropes — will you not sit 
with us, Beth? and Jack, or Will, one of 
you go back to where we were sitting and 
see if your mother will not join us.” 

“ 1 knew she wouldn’t,” said Jack; “we 
have been here some days, and she don’t 
care for the shows a bit. She likes sitting 
where she is and watching the carriages go 
by, and seeing how the people are dressed.” 

“Very well, then do not disturb her. 
After we have seen this we will walk a lit- 
tle, and look for a Punch and Judy show. 
If we do not find one we will take a car- 
riage and drive to the Luxembourg Gar- 
dens, in quite another part of Paris, where 
we will find the people being amused in 
many different ways. I must take you to- 
day as I leave early tomorrow, and as Mrs. 


PARIS AMUSEMENTS 


99 


Gray does not care for such things, this 
may he your last opportunity.” 

“ Don’t, please,” and there was a world 
of pleading in Ray’s voice. 

“ Don’t what?” 

“ Don’t let’s say a word about you going 
tomorrow. Let’s make believe today, that 
you’re going to stay here right along.” 

“ I wish that I did not need to leave you, 
my darling, but I have to return to New 
York to attend to important business; and 
besides, my house over here is burned, so 
that I have no home but the one in New 
York. But, you know, soon after you get 
back you are to make me a visit; and I am 
going to write to you every week ” 

“Come over here!” shouted Will. “Ray 
will love this — a man with a performing 
French poodle, who can do most any old 
thing.” 

“Shall we go?” asked Mrs. Lester. 

Ray’s eyes were brightening in antic- 
ipation, but she said slowly: “You haven’t 
seen the little theatre yet, but — wouldn’t 
you love to see a dog do tricks?” 


100 


RAY’S REWARD 


“Yes indeed,” said Mrs. Lester, rising 
with alacrity; “let us see the dog by all 
means.” 

“ Just when we got seats and were all 
fixed,” grumbled Beth. “I’d rather stay 
here.” 

As no one paid any attention to her 
she followed the others. 

All at once, as though the idea had 
suddenly occurred to him, Will said: “Beth 
you never told me why you didn’t wake 
the servants up, the night of the fire ; why 
didn’t you?” 

“ I didn’t know what to do. I thought 
I saw Ray burning up and it scared me 
silly. I ran to the front door but I couldn’t 
get it open. I was afraid to go upstairs a- 
gain to hunt anybody. I didn’t know where 
the fire was by that time. I screamed at 
the top of my voice until the servants did 
come and let me out.” 

“ I think you are a coward — just that,” 
said Will, witheringly. “I wish Ray was 
my sister!” 

“ I don’t see what every boy sees, to be 


PARIS AMUSEMENTS 


101 


crazy about, in Ray,” snapped Beth; “she 
isn’t pretty; she can’t play tennis or throw 
ball.” 

“It’s because she’s always square,” an- 
swered Will. 


IX 


BETH IS PUZZLED 

«tt tell ray/’ said Mrs. Gray, severe- 
\\ ly, “I am sorry to see that, with 
you, new friends are best. But 
because a person is rich and makes hand- 
some presents, does not seem a sufficient 
reason to me for crying when they are 
gone; especially since you are with us a- 
gain; and certainly Beth must be a great 
deal more company for you, than a person 
of my age.” 

“ It isn’t that,” sobbed Ray, “but I have 
never felt so alone in all my life — oh, it’s 
worse than before I knew Mrs. Lester, for 
then I never expected anybody to love me 
the way she does, except only when I made 
believe to myself. I never, never dreamed 
a really person would love me so they’d 
cry over me like Mrs. Lester did when I 

was in bed after the fire ” 

102 


BETH IS PUZZLED 


103 


“ I am tired of hearing about that fire!” 
exclaimed Mrs. Gray. “And I do not ex- 
pect to make a fuss over you and spoil you, 
simply because you did what it was your 
duty to do.” 

Mrs. Gray did not seem to notice the 
fact, that if Ray did only her duty, Beth 
had failed to do even that. But Mrs. Gray 
was bitter over the result of the visit of the 
girls in Lucerne. She had hoped that the 
fancy Mrs. Lester had taken to Beth would 
be strengthened; instead of which a fire 
broke out and Ray had distinguished her- 
self, much to Mrs. Gray’s disappointment 
and disgust. 

However, she consoled herself with the 
thought, that she and Beth could always 
refer to Beth’s visit at Mrs. Lester’s villa; 
and she intended to follow up the acquaint- 
ance as far as Mrs. Lester would permit; 
although she knew that Mrs. Lester in her 
manner to travelling companions, might 
greatly differ from the rich Mrs. Lester in 
her own home in New York. 

Mrs. Gray turned to Beth: “I think I 


104 


RAY’S REWARD 


shall buy you a lace dress this morning. 
We will go out shopping now, and Ray can 
come along, if she decides to stop crying 
over Mrs. Lester’s departure.” 

Ray was at once all interest. 

“ Will it be all lace?” she asked in a tone 
of awe. “ Won’t that he grand, Beth? I 
never had a piece of lace on a dress, and 
all lace — just think!” 

“ I guess,” continued Mrs. Gray, “that I 
must get you a silk slip to wear under it.” 

“What color?” asked Beth. “I like 
pink or blue.” 

“ Blue is the most becoming to you, with 
broad sash and hair ribbons; then you can 
wear Mrs. Lester’s beads when you go to 
see her, and that will please her.” 

“Will you get blue slippers for her?” 
inquired Ray, as though living in a dream. 

“No indeed/’ said Mrs. Gray. “I’m sure 
they are very bad taste.” 

“Oh!” sighed Ray. “When I make be- 
lieve to be dressed up just the way I like 
best, I always wear kid slippers the color 
of my sash. I never had a sash really. 


BETH IS PUZZLED 


105 


Will Beth’s be lovely, stiff ribbon that 
stands out like a butterfly’s two wings? Oh 
my! And a silk dress to wear under an- 
other dress! I’d wear the silk outside.” 

The girls enjoyed shopping, so that the 
experience of the morning was a pleasure 
to them both; as Beth was never happier 
than when she was the centre of interest, 
and she loved pretty things to wear. Ray 
was just as deeply interested, because for 
her to be shopping for pretty things was 
a great delight. It mattered not in the 
least that none of the things were for her. 
The only longing she felt, was that a pair 
of blue kid slippers might have been added 
to complete the outfit. 

When afternoon came, Mrs. Gray de- 
clared herself too tired to go out again, 
which disappointed the boys extremely, as 
she had said that she would take them for 
a steamer ride on the river Seine. 

She told them however that they might 
take the girls into the beautiful Tuileries 
Gardens; and when they begged very hard 
consented for them to go as far as the 


106 


RAY'S REWARD 


nearest steamer landing, and watch the 
boats as they started and stopped every 
few minutes. This proved very absorbing 
for the first hour, but then the boys grew 
restless. 

“ I’ll tell you what let’s do,” suggested 
Jack. “ Let’s just step on the next one that 
stops, and ride to the next landing; then 
get off and take the next one back. It will 
cost only a few cents anyway, and I’ll 
treat the crowd.” 

“ That’ll be great!” exclaimed Will. 

“ Mother wouldn’t let us,” objected Beth. 

“ She didn’t tell us we couldn’t ride on 
a steamer,” persisted Will. 

“Besides,” added Jack, “it’s only like 
playing at steamer-riding — just from one 
landing to another.” 

“ I’m not going,” said Ray. 

“ Why not? You didn’t promise not to.” 

“ I can’t go; ’cause Mrs. Gray trusted us 
to go as far as the landing, or play in the 
Gardens; that’s all we’re allowed to do.” 

At this Beth flared up: “Don’t put on 
airs because Mrs. Lester lets you do just 


BETH IS PUZZLED 


107 


as you please when she’s around. Do you 
suppose you know what our mother would 
like us to do, as well as Jack and Will do? 
Of course we can do as they say, when we 
are in their care for the afternoon.” 

“ I can’t go,” repeated Ray. 

“ Now you’re obstinate. Mother always 
said you were obstinate.” 

“Well, we’re going,” said Jack with de- 
cision; “you can go or stay as you please.” 

“How will that do for your promise!” 
mocked Beth. “The only thing Mother 
made us promise, was that we’d all stay to- 
gether, and not wander off from the boys, 
or let the boys wander off from us.” 

“Bully for you, Beth; that’s just what 
she did say. How will you get around that, 
Ray? If we all go on the steamer, and you 
don’t stay with us, you’re the only one 
breaking a promise, see?” 

Ray turned a distressed look from one 
to the other. 

“If I do go,” she said, “I’ll be breaking 
a promise without words, ’cause I know 
she never thought of us going on a boat 


108 


KAY’S REWARD 


without her, so I’ve just the same as prom- 
ised I wouldn’t, without needing to say 
the words.” 

“ We’re all going,” declared Jack trium- 
phantly; “and if you tell on us, you’ll tell 
that you’ve broken your promise to Moth- 
er, and not stayed with us.” 

Ray’s eyes were wide with amazement. 
“Do you mean that you aren’t going to 
tell her?” 

“Yes silly, I mean just that,” said Jack; 
“now you better come along and make no 
trouble.” 

“ I just — can’t,” gasped Ray. “Oh, don’t 
go please — please don’t go ” 

“ Now Ray,” snapped Beth, “you can’t 
manage my brothers; if you did make Tom 
and Ernest Rivers do as you said about 
things ” 

“I don’t know about that,” interrupted 
Will unexpectedly. “I guess I’ll stay with 
you, Ray.” 

J ack and Beth gazed at him in speech- 
less astonishment, and Ray looked unspok- 
en gratitude. 


BETH IS PUZZLED 


109 


“ I’ll stay/’ Will repeated; “and I’ll stick 
by you because you’ve got pluck, and — 
there’s another reason.” 

“I suppose,” sneered Jack, “you’ve got 
to be polite because she bought you a hat.” 

“No,” retorted Will, “but if you must 
know the other reason — it’s because I am 
sorry I struck the brave little dog that was 
so game in the fire; and I’d like to do some- 
thing for Kay to prove that I’m sorry.” 

“ I’m sure you are,” said Ray quickly. 

“ I never expected to hurt it,” he con- 
tinued, speaking now to Kay; “I was just 
boiling mad and I had to throw something. 
I don’t believe I even meant to strike it. 
I just wanted to throw something at it.” 

“ I’m glad you didn’t mean to be cruel,” 
said Kay; “and it will help you not to do 
such a thing ever again, won’t it?” 

“ You bet it will. I’ve worried too much 
about that to want to go over it again in 
a hurry; for honest, I’m fond of animals, 
and I hope I’ll never hurt one again.” 

“Here’s the steamer,” announced Jack. 
“Come on Beth!” 


110 


RAY’S REWARD 


But Beth lagged back. “I don’t want 
to do what Mother wouldn’t like. Better 
wait Jack, it won’t be much fun going all 
alone.” 

Jack was used to ruling his brother 
and sister, and this defeat made him very 
angry; but as he did not intend bearing 
the punishment alone he sullenly watched 
the little steamer puff away. 

On their way back to the hotel Beth 
was unusually silent. She was trying to 
puzzle out how it was that she, who was 
working hard to make people like her, and 
give her presents, should fail; while Ray, 
who was always giving everything away, 
and who did not ever seem to be planning 
anything for herself, always got every- 
thing, and everybody planning for her; 
like Ernest teaching her to drive — and 
now even Will had gone over to her side. 

Beth was greatly puzzled. 


X 


A NOVEL BATH 

H olland proved a land of delight to 
the children. They enjoyed walk- 
ing beside the canals and watching 
the canal-boats, bearing all sorts of things 
and often piled high with fruit. They were 
never tired of looking at the little carts 
drawn by dogs. And the Holland children! 
They fascinated them most of all. 

Scheveningen, the Dutch seaside re- 
sort, was a place which they wished they 
need never leave. 

Continually one of the girls would ex- 
claim: “There’s another little Dutch child!” 

“ They look like stiff little dolls,” com- 
mented Beth ; “and they’re every one dress- 
ed like little old women. Look, Ray! that 
one has a tiny shawl pinned down just like 
an old woman — and how they do stick 
out in the skirt! Do you suppose they 
111 


112 


RAY’S REWARD 


really do wear thirteen skirts so as to make 
them stick out that way? somebody told 
us so, you know.” 

“ There’s a tiny tot!” exclaimed Ray; 
“Oh, isn’t she the darlingest thing ever? 
The smaller they are the funnier they look 
dressed like old women. If I take care of 
an orphanage when I grow up, I’m going 
to have all Dutch children, ’cause I never 
could see enough of them, and everybody 
would just love them — even the Board of 
Directors.” 

“ Mother’s beckoning,” said Beth; “may- 
be she wants us about going in bathing. 
Won’t it be fun, going in the North Sea! 
We're coming /” 

“Here,” said Mrs. Gray; “I have just 
bought our bath-tickets, and here is a bath- 
ing-suit for each of you; and here are two 
towels apiece; be careful not to drop any- 
thing; and here is a blue ticket, and a 
round metal piece with a number on it, for 
each one. I cannot get it quite clear from 
the man’s broken English, what they are 
for, but we will go on down to the beach, 


A NOVEL BATH 


113 


and the people in charge will understand.” 

“ What fun! what fun!” exclaimed Ray. 
“Fm sorry the boys are missing it.” 

“ They’ll enjoy the fishing even more,” 
said Beth; “ where are the bath-houses?” 

“ There they are,” said Mrs. Gray, “ di- 
rectly in front of you. Do you see those 
things which look like carts with a room 
on them — see the windows? they are the 
bathing-houses. I will inquire about it.” 

Going up to a man who was evidently 
in charge, Mrs. Gray asked for information 
as to how they were to proceed in regard 
to a bath. She spoke in English and he 
only understood Dutch, but seeing the suit 
over the arm of each, he held out his hand 
for the blue tickets, and then for the round 
pieces with the numbers on them. Next 
he pointed out a bathing-cart for each, the 
number of the cart corresponding to the 
number on the round metal piece. 

Mrs. Gray saw each one mount the step 
of a cart, and bidding them not to go out 
in the water until she was ready to go with 
them, she entered her own. 


114 


RAY’S REWARD 


Ray thought the bathing-house very 
cute, and began quickly to undress so that 
she would not keep the others waiting. 
Suddenly she felt the house begin to move, 
and drawing aside the little white curtain, 
she discovered that she was leaving the 
others behind, for there stood the other 
two bathing-houses just as she had last 
seen them. 

She wondered what was happening to her. 

Just then Beth’s face appeared at her 
window, and she called: “ There’s a horse 
to your house, Ray, and a man on it. I 
guess you’re going to ride across the North 
Sea.” 

Ray did not like it at all. Why was 
she being driven out to sea, and not the 
others? She did not continue undressing, 
but kept her eye on the other carts which 
she had left behind. Before long the house 
stopped, and she saw a man on a horse ride 
back to the beach. This she thought was 
worse than all — to he left alone in the North 
Sea! If only the house was on the dry 
beach, she would get out and run back. 


A NOVEL BATH 


115 


As she watched the man, she saw him 
attach his horse to Beth’s bath-house, and 
to her unspeakable relief, he brought it 
out and stopped it by the side of hers. 

Beth’s face looked out at her again, as 
she called: “Is’nt this the most fun of any 
bath ever? Now the man’s going back for 
Mother. 0 Ray, you should have seen her 
when my house began moving away. She 
called out the window for the man to wait 
until she went. Then she came to the door 
part undressed and screamed after him. He 
never knew a thing she said. 

“ Is'nt it all perfectly great ! 

“ There’s only the one horse, and he can 
only pull one out at a time. But I’ll never 
get ready while there’s so much to watch.” 
Beth’s head disappeared and the little white 
curtain settled over her window again. 

When they were dipping with great 
enjoyment in the waves of the North Sea, 
Mrs. Gray remarked: “I think that this 
system is a very good one, because the 
bathers do not have to walk on the beach 
and be seen in their bathing-suits by other 


116 


RAY’S REWARD 


people. After we went into the house on 
the dry beach, we were brought out just 
far enough in the water to step down into 
it all ready for our bath.” 

When they were again in their bath- 
houses, the horse drew them to the shore 
again, one after the other. 

When they were dressed, Mrs. Gray 
took a large basket chair which protected 
her from the sun; and the girls played in 
the sand on the beach until they discover- 
ed another American, with whom they had 
become acquainted in Paris. 

This young lady was much older than 
they were; almost grown up in fact, as her 
dresses came down to her ankles, and her 
hair was worn up on top of her head. She 
would not allow them, however, to call her 
Miss Anna. They both admired her very 
much. She had a brother, quite grown up, 
whom they called Mr. Hughes. 

When the girls saw Anna they ran ea- 
gerly to tell her what a funny bath they 
had had; and while they talked, her broth- 
er joined them. 


A NOVEL BATH 


117 


“ Well, girls,” he said pleasantly, “I am 
glad that we have found you in Holland. 
Ray, I have something for you. Come with 
me and I will get it.” 

When he started off, with Ray skipp- 
ing along by his side, Beth asked: “Anna, 
do you think Ray’s pretty?” 

“No not exactly, but she has such sweet 
ways, that I hardly think any one notices 
that she is not exactly pretty.” 

“Well, I wish you would tell me why 
every one is always trying to give her a 
good time. Once I thought she was sly and 
made up to rich people for the things they 
gave her; but it’s just the same with the 
boys everywhere; and Mr. Hughes is aw- 
fully fond of her, too.” 

“I think,” said Anna, “that it is be- 
cause she is so full of the Golden Rule. 
Some of us — most all of us in fact — try to 
live up to it, but I have heard my brother 
say, that he had never seen any one who 
lived it as naturally as Ray does. She is 
always doing to others as she would be 
done by. Surely you must have noticed it.” 


118 


RAY’S REWARD 


“No,” said Beth; “how did she live it 
about the fire? you heard about it.” 

“ Why, Beth, did she not go into danger 
to waken Mrs. Lester? If she had been in 
a room cut off from escape, do you not sup- 
pose that that is what she would have want- 
ed some one to do for her? Even in the 
case of the poor little dog that was hurt, 
she did all she could for it, just as she 
would have liked some one to do for her, 
had she been hurt and left .alone. Then 
Will told me about her buying the hat for 
him after he lost his; was that not doing 
what she would have wished any one to do 
for her had she needed it? Then she never 
says an unkind thing about anybody, and 
that is one of the hardest ways of living 
up to the Golden Rule.” 

“ Do you suppose, Anna, that was what 
Will meant in Paris when he said she was 
always square?” 

“ I do not know just what he meant; you 
had better ask him yourself.” 

“Well,” sighed Beth, “I’ve always tried 
to get the things I wanted for myself. I 


A NOVEL BATH 


119 


never thought of doing as you say about 
the Golden Buie; but I believe I’ll start in 
and try, because everything makes Bay 
happy, and nearly everything makes me 
cross — Oh, Bay, how you made me jump! 
I didn’t see you coming.” 

“Look, Beth! look, Anna! see what Mr. 
Hughes has given me — a silver bangle and 
the cutest, cunningest charm on it you 
ever saw. See — a Dutch fish woman — did 
you ever? Look at the basket on her arm 
carved to look like straw, and her plaited 
hair — Oh, did anybody ever ! He bought 
it for me, and was going to send it in a 
box, but he found us here, and so he gave 
it to me.” 

Beth held it in her hand and admired 
it, though she felt envious that it belonged 
to Bay. When Bay noticed Beth’s delight 
over it, she said, impulsively: “You can 
wear it one day, and I’ll wear it one day, 
turn about.” 

Anna caught Bay in her arms and kiss- 
ed her; and Beth, looking soberly at Anna, 
slipped the bangle over Bay’s hand, saying: 


120 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ No, Ray, I’d rather you’d wear it all 
the time.” 

Later Beth said to Anna: “ That’s the 
first time I tried it when I wouldn’t wear 
Ray’s bangle, because if it was mine I’d 
like to wear it all the time myself.” 

Then it was that Anna stooped over 
and kissed Beth, saying: “I never saw you 
look so sweet before, and now that you 
have made a beginning, you will keep re- 
membering it more and more.” 

“ I’m crazy to try it on a lot of things, 
but I’m afraid I won’t get the chance.” 

“ Never fear,” laughed Anna; “the op- 
portunities for using that rule come all 
the time.” 


XI 


A UNIQUE ISLAND 

T he little steamer was nearing Marken 
when Ray caught sight of a group 
of children waiting on the landing. 
“Oh see, Beth, how little some of them are. 
They’re dressed all alike nearly, but differ- 
ent from the ones in Scheveningen.” 

“ Yes, they haven’t tiny shawls brought 
down and pinned in front like little old 
women; but their skirts are long.” 

“Look,” said Anna, “they all wear caps 
and every one has an apron on.” 

“ How do you suppose,” said Mrs. Gray, 
“they can walk in those hugh, wooden 
shoes.” 

“ I think,” remarked Mr. Hughes, “that 
the fashion for banging the hair must have 
originated in Marken. Do you notice that 
every girl has a short, straight bang, of 
what looks to me like corn-colored floss?” 
121 


122 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ Is it really true,” Anna inquired, “that 
only the fishing-people live on this island, 
and we can see them in their every-day 
costumes, without seeing other people mix- 
ed up with them?” 

Her brother laughed. “There is no one 
on the island now but the natives. In a few 
moments, however, we will land, and the 
steamer’s passengers will spoil the effect, 
ourselves among the number.” 

“Yes,” said Ray eagerly, “but we can 
make believe ourselves away.” 

“How is that?” inquired Mr. Hughes. 
“Why cannot we make believe ourselves 
away when we are in Scheveningen just 
the same?” 

“That’s quite different,” Ray replied; 

“ ’cause there most everybody dresses like 
we do, and we have to pick out the Dutch 
fisher-folks; but here everybody is just 
themselves, and when we land we’re just 
tourists, and we don’t belong, or get mixed 
up with them at all. It’s like looking at a 
picture-book, it don’t matter how many 
look at it, it don’t change the pictures any.” 


A UNIQUE ISLAND 


123 


“ The explanation is completely satisfac- 
tory/’ laughed Mr. Hughes; who delighted 
in Ray’s conversation, and was usually 
found somewhere near her on these trips. 

The bustle of landing was soon over, 
and then Anna took a group of the pictur- 
esque Marken children with her kodak, 
telling the girls that she would give them 
each a photograph when they were ready. 

“Oh — oh — oh!” cried Ray presently, 
standing still with clasped hands. “I never 
saw anything so darling as that Dutch 
baby!” 

“ I must have a kodak of it,” said Anna. 

“ Oh, Anna, if only it belonged to me 
I’d be happy every minute,” said Ray. 
“But I’ll never have one like that. How 
could anything ever be so cunning and 
dear! It’s got on a skirt as long as its own 
grandmother would wear; and a waist ex- 
actly like its mother would wear; and a 
plaid apron — Oh, did any one ever! And 
please, please look at the candle-shade it 
has on its head — I do believe it has a cap 
under that!” 


124 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ Come on girls/’ said Mr. Hughes, “we 
are to see in some of the little houses, you 
know, and the others are way ahead of us. 
I do not even see Mrs. Gray and the boys; 
but they are probably studying some boat 
with a view to fishing, although there will 
be no time for that while we are here. The 
steamer will not wait indefinitely for us, 
so we must tear ourselves away from the 
fascinating baby.” 

“Was there ever one so cute before?” 
asked Ray, as they moved along. 

“For my part,” said Mr. Hughes, “I 
have seen prettier ones. Here is a house 
which the guide says we may go in. That 
high, uncomfortable looking object, you 
observe is the bed; and would you like to 
see where the children sleep?” 

“Why there’s only one bed in here,” 
objected Beth. 

“Then behold!” exclaimed Mr. Hughes. 

With a dramatic flourish he opened the 
doors of what appeared to be a small closet 
under the bed: “In there the children 
are deposited for the night,” said he. 



“Oh see, Beth, how little some of them 
are. They’re dressed all alike nearly, but 
different from the ones in Scheveningen.” 

“Yes, they haven’t tiny shawls brought 
down and pinned in front like little old 
women; but their skirts are long.” 

“Look, . . . they all wear caps and every 
one has an apron on. How do you suppose 
. . . they can walk in those hugh, wooden 
shoes.” Cli. XI. 



> 





A UNIQUE ISLAND 


125 


“He’s just teasing/' said Ray; but to 
her surprise Anna took the information 
seriously; and some other tourists arriving 
just behind them, said: “Can you imagine 
how the children have such rosy cheeks 
sleeping low down near the floor in those 
closet-beds." 

“ Now Ray/' said Mr. Hughes, “perhaps 
next time when I give you valuable infor- 
mation, you will believe that I speak the 
truth." 

“ Oh Mr. Hughes, I know you wouldn't 
tell me a story; but just teasing is differ- 
ent, 'cause you wouldn't let me go on be- 
lieving it long, if it was just teasing." 

“ Don’t you like the children’s beds?" 

“ I think they're dreadful for children," 
replied Ray; “but I’d like them for a dog." 

“ Are not the rooms the cleanest places 
that you ever saw?" asked Anna. “And I 
think that the plates arranged all around 
the room, are very artistic." 

As they left the house, Beth nearly 
stumbled over something. 

“ What is it?" asked Ray, stooping down 


126 


RAY’S REWARD 


to look. “Why it’s wooden shoes! What 
are they doing out here?” 

“ They do not wear them in the house/’ 
said Anna; “and that is how they keep it 
so clean. They drop off their shoes before 
they enter. Let us hurry now, because I 
noticed a little house where we could buy 
post cards.” 

There was much hurry and great fun 
in choosing the various cards; and not un- 
til they were all seated in the steamer a- 
gain, with the island of Marken left in the 
distance, did any one notice that Ray was 
the only one of the party who had none. 

“Don’t you care for them?” Anna ask- 
ed. “Why did you not get some like these 
with the children on them, and colored?” 

“I’m just travelling,” explained Ray; 
“all my expenses are paid, but I don’t have 
money for just shopping — that’s some- 
thing quite different, I guess.” 

“You poor dear!” cried Anna. “Why, 
buying souvenirs and collecting post cards 
is the most fun of all. You shall have some 
of mine. Wait until I divide them. I must 


A UNIQUE ISLAND 


127 


keep a few for my own collection, because 
I get some every place we go, and I am 
going to put them all in an album. Then 
I send one to my mother, and one to my 
married sister, from every place; but the 
other people I intended mine for, must do 
without. Just let me get them fixed.” 

“ I’ll give you one of mine,” said Beth, 
“ because that is doing the way I would 
want to be done by; but I don’t see why 
my mother didn’t give you money to buy 
some for yourself. I don’t see which I can 
give you, because I only chose just the ones 
I wanted for myself.” 

“What a display!” said Mr. Hughes, as 
he sauntered up; “but I bet I have got a 
better collection than all of yours put to- 
gether.” 

“Oh Rob,” said Anna, “Ray did not get 
any. She says that her expenses are paid 
for her trip, but that shopping is not in- 
cluded; so the little dear has not a single 
one; and I am going to give her some of 
mine, of course.” 

“ You need not do so,” said Mr. Hughes, 


128 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ because she is welcome to all of mine.” 

“ I’m glad of that/’ said Beth. 

“Now which will you have, Ray? Here 
is a fine group, all of the children’s dresses 
being in bright colors; I know that you 
will like that, so it is yours.” 

“How good you are to me,” said Ray. 
“I’m so glad to have the beautiful card 
’cause I know Mrs. Lester’s going to love 
it. Can I send it to her just the way it is?” 

“ It needs a stamp only,” said Anna. 

“ Why Anna,” said her brother, “ I am 
surprised at your ignorance. Don’t notice 
her, Ray, but when your post card is ready 
for mailing just give it to me, and I will 
see that it gets off: all right.” 

“Of course,” said Anna, smiling grate- 
fully at her brother; “how stupid of me!” 

“We will overlook your mistake this 
time,” he replied, “if you are more care- 
ful in the future. Now, Ray, since that 
card was of no use to you and you are go- 
ing to send it away, here is another.” 

“ Are you really going to give me an- 
other? Ought I to take more than one? 


A UNIQUE ISLAND 


129 


But oh, I would like to send one to Ernest 
and Torn, they’d be so pleased, I know.” 

u I’m glad now I didn’t give you one of 
mine,” snapped Beth. “I never thought 
you meant to send it to them. I might 
just as well send it myself.” 

“ We can send mine for us both, if you’d 
rather,” said Bay sweetly, “and then you 
can keep yours for some one else.” 

“ I’m going to send one my own self,” 
retorted Beth. “You’re always trying to 
get ahead of me, with them.” 

“ Indeed I’m not, Beth. I just thought 
how much they’d enjoy Marken, and how 
nice for them to have a post card, so if 
you’re going to send them one, I don’t 
need to a bit.” 

“Yes,” said Mr. Hughes firmly, “I do 
sometimes keep the Golden Buie myself, 
and so if you, Bay, had thought of me, and 
wished me to have a post card from Mark- 
en, I should not like to see you persuaded 
from your intention, therefore I insist up- 
on the card going to the person for whom 
you intended it. When do we find one to 


130 


RAY’S REWARD 


suit your own special fancy? Here is an- 
other.” 

“ Do you really mean it for me, too? If 
you truly don’t want to use it yourself, 
I’d love to send it to Jean.” 

“ How silly of you!” cried Beth. “The 
idea of sending it to a coachman! I’m sur- 
prised at you!” 

“Would it be wrong?” asked Ray wist- 
fully. “He made Doggie into a real pretty 
dog, and washed him, and brushed his hair 
and fed him.” 

“ By all means Jean deserves a post card. 
You get them all written tonight when we 
get back to the hotel in Amsterdam, and I 
will send them off all right. Now cannot 
I tempt you with this one?” began Mr. 
Hughes, but was interrupted by Will, who 
had stood beside them for several minutes: 

“ Don’t you know, Mr. Hughes, that Ray 
doesn’t know how to keep anything for 
herself? The moment she gets anything, 
she thinks of some one to give it to. If you 
give her the whole bunch of cards, she’ll 
send every one of them away.” 


A UNIQUE ISLAND 


131 


“ Oh don’t think it’s ’cause I don’t ap- 
preciate them, Mr. Hughes,” said Ray, 
“but you see I’ve never had things to give 
away before I came to Europe. Nobody in 
the Orphanage gives us anything to give 
away. Once I used to think maybe some 
of the Board of Directors would, but they 
never did.” 

“When I return to New York,” said 
Mr. Hughes solemnly, “I shall insist upon 
being elected as one of The Board; then 
these important matters will be adjusted. 
In the meantime the remainder of my post 
cards belong to you, and you can send all 
of them away without hurting my feelings 
in the least; only I will keep them in my 
pocket until we get back to the hotel, or 
you might lose them.” 

That night when Ray received them, 
each card bore a stamp ready for mailing. 


XII 


HOMEWARD BOUND 

« tt t is very kind of you to come down to 
the steamer to see us off,” said Mrs. 
Gray graciously to Mr. Hughes and 
Anna, who had come to see them off on 
their homeward voyage. 

“ We want to keep you in sight as long 
as possible,” replied Anna. “We are so 
sorry you are going, that we shall feel 
quite lost without you.” 

“ You must come and have dinner with 
us when you return to New York. I want 
you to meet my husband, and I want him 
to meet you. Now would you like to look 
over the place that is to be our home for 
the next ten days?” 

“ Indeed yes,” replied Anna, her broth- 
er being absorbed in untying a package 
for Ray. He was saying: 

“ This is to amuse you on the voyage.” 

132 


HOMEWARD BOUND 


133 


“ It’s an album/’ announced Ray happi- 
ly, “full of post cards; and is it for us to 
take to New York with us?” 

“ It is not for us but for you” he said. 
“Your name is written in the album; and 
these are the post cards which I have col- 
lected during our trip; but Anna has some 
just like them, and as they are so much 
bother, always being in my way when I 
am packing, I have conceived the brilliant 
idea of buying an album and getting rid 
of them all in this way.” 

“ Oh, you are good to me; and how the 
girls will love to look at it; and I can tell 
them, ‘I saw that place,’ every time we 
come to a post card where I’ve been.” 

“ Let me carry it to your stateroom for 
you, as it is rather heavy.” 

“Here are our two staterooms,” said 
Mrs. Gray. “And the boys will be there, 
and we will be here,” throwing open the 
door and then starting back in amazement. 
“I have made a mistake. I was sure that 
this was our number; but you see this one 
belongs to somebody with lots of friends 


134 


RAY’S REWARD 


over here. I must go and find the steward.” 

“ What a bower of flowers!” cried Anna. 

In a very short time Mrs. Gray was 
back again. 

“ The steward says that this is our room, 
so they must have put these lovely things 
in the wrong place.” 

“ Would it not be wise,” suggested Mr. 
Hughes, “to see the name to whom they 
belong? then they could be taken to the 
right place.” 

“ Why of course, Mr. Hughes. The card 
on these roses is — why — why — they are 
for me; but I have no friends over here.” 

“ It seems, at least, that there is some 
one who wishes you bon voyage,” said he. 

Looking hastily at the card attached, 
Mrs. Gray read his name. 

“ Now really, my dear sir, this is posi- 
tively too kind of you. I have no words to 
express my appreciation of such thought- 
ful attention; but I do thank you most 
heartily.” 

“ Mother, look at that scrumptious bas- 
ket of fruit, who is that for?” asked Beth. 


HOMEWARD BOUND 


135 


“There’s every kind of fruit in it; and it’s 
just hugh! 

“Anna,” said Mrs. Gray, “we are some- 
what crowded here; and would you mind 
reading the name on that fruit basket, as 
you are nearest to it?” 

“ With pleasure. It reads: for ray, care 

OF MRS. JOHN GRAY, S. S. ROTTERDAM, HOL- 
L AND-AMERI CAN LINE.” 

For a few moments no one spoke, while 
Ray looked wonderingly from one to the 
other; then, as though her voice would not 
come, she said in a half whisper: “Do you 
s’pose it’s true?” 

“To be sure,” said Anna. “Come over 
here and squeeze in front of me. Now take 
the card out of the envelope, and find out 
who loves you very much.” 

“It’s from my Mrs. Lester!” cried Ray 
breathlessly. “How could she send them 
way over here, when she’s in New York? 
Isn’t she wonderful? Oh, please everybody 
have some of this lovely fruit.” 

“No indeed,” said Mr. Hughes firmly, 
“I am sure that she intended it entirely 


136 


RAY’S REWARD 


for you to eat and enjoy on the voyage.” 

“Look here/’ said Beth, “you needn’t 
call her your Mrs. Lester — here are roses 
for Mother and me with her card on them, 
and here are boxes of candy for the boys.” 

“That is very thoughtful of her,” said 
Mrs. Gray, recovering from her surprise 
at Ray’s beautiful basket of fruit. 

“ Here’s another package for Ray,” said 
Beth reluctantly. “Hurry up and open it, 
can’t you? What’s the use just standing 
there holding it?” 

“ I’m guessing who it can be from,” said 
Ray. “I never had so many things happen 
all at once. Oh, it’s a picture of Doggie, 
a real photograph! Ernest sends it to me 
with Doggie’s love. Look Anna! Look Mr. 
Hughes! That's Doggie!” 

“ Well,” snapped Beth, “I’d like to see 
it some time.” 

“ Of course, but Anna and Mr. Hughes 
didn’t know a bit what he looked like. I 
want you and Mrs. Gray to see it, and the 
boys when they come from the deck. Isn’t 
he cute with his head on one side? Ernest 


HOMEWARD ROUND 


137 


is good to me — why I’d rather have that 
than anything, except Doggie himself.” 

“ Didn’t Tom send you anything?” ask- 
ed Beth, who was so angry that she felt 
like spoiling the enjoyment of Ray. 

“ Why should he? I’m sure I never ex- 
pected a boy to be so kind as Ernest; but 
I love Tom too. That’s my name on that 
big envelope.” 

Every one waited expectantly while 
she opened it. 

“ It’s from Jean, Mrs. Lester’s coachman. 
It’s pressed flowers, pasted in a little book. 
See — see — my favorite flowers that I lov- 
ed in Lucerne. 

“ Oh, how kind of Jean! I do believe 
he’s gathered the flowers himself, and fix- 
ed them for me. I could just cry ’cause I 
never can see him again to tell him how I 
feel about it.” 

“You will see him when Mrs. Lester 
takes you driving in New York,” said An- 
na, comforting her. 

“ He don’t ever leave Lucerne,” explain- 
ed Ray; “he’s her coachman at her villa.” 


138 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ Come Anna/’ said her brother, “we 
must be getting off the steamer, or it will 
be off with us.” 

Then came the hurry and excitement 
of every one saying good-by to their friends 
and then the steamer began slowly to move 
away, and while handkerchiefs continued 
to wave, widened the distance until they 
appeared only as mere specks, and the 
homeward journey was begun. 

Not until the piers at Hoboken were 
in sight, did Ray feel that the wonderful 
dream which she had been living in, was 
over; and even that she thought she would 
not mind, if only she belonged to some one. 
She told herself that she would not even 
mind if they were cross to her sometimes, 
as Mrs. Gray was; only now it felt so lone- 
ly to know that there was nobody that 
belonged to her. 

Mrs. Gray was leaning over the rail, 
anxious to catch the first sight of her hus- 
band; and the boys and Beth were wild 
over the prospect of seeing their father 
again. 


HOMEWARD BOUND 


139 


It seemed to Ray that she was the only 
person whose home-coming meant nothing 
to anybody. 

The girl who stood next to her was 
expecting her whole family down to see 
her arrive. 

Some of the passengers were not sure 
that there would be any one to meet them 
when the steamer docked; but they were 
nevertheless to hasten on by trains to a 
looked-forward-to reunion with some one, 
somewhere, who belonged to them. 

As the steamer drew nearer and nearer 
exclamations of delight were heard on ev- 
ery side, as the passengers recognized the 
faces of dear ones, among those in the wait- 
ing crowd. 

Ray looked at the sea of strange faces, 
and a lump in her throat nearly choked 
her as she went down the gang plank; and 
some tears that could not be restrained ran 
down her cheeks. 

Suddenly two arms were around her, 
and she found herself clasped tight in the 
embrace of Mrs. Lester, who murmered: 

“My Ray , my own darling Ray , at last” 


XIII 


AT HOME 

A few moments later Ray was seated 
beside Mrs. Lester in her handsome 
motor and said wonderingly: “Am 
I truly going right to your house for my 
visit now?” 

“You truly are, darling. I could not 
wait any longer for you. I have counted 
the days, until I could have you with me 
again, and now we are going right home. 
I thought yesterday that if Mrs. Gray had 
planned to take you with them for a few 
days, I would then wait; but this morning 
when I realized that it was today that I 
could have you, I just knew that I was not 
willing to wait a minute longer, because I 
had the written permission from the Board 
of Directors, which I showed to Mrs. Gray. 
I had already had an interview with her 
husband, so it took only a few moments 
140 


AT HOME 


141 


to get you. They will have to remain for 
their baggage to be examined by the cus- 
tom house officials; and they will attend 
to your suit case and have it sent home.” 

“To the Orphanage?” asked Kay, star- 
tled. “Won’t I need my clothes to visit? 
or am I only going to spend the day with 
you?” and her fingers closed tightly over 
the hand that held hers. 

“You darling Ray child!” cried Mrs. 
Lester. “Do you suppose that a day’s visit 
would satisfy me, after I have been count- 
ing the weeks and days off the calendar? 
Oh, Mrs. Gray will send your things to my 
house, of course.” 

“ Oh!” said Ray, with a deep sigh of re- 
lief, which spoke of a great content. 

There was but little more said between 
them until the house was reached, when 
Mrs. Lester ran quickly up the steps, so 
that when Ray reached the threshold, Mrs. 
Lester took her quickly in her arms, saying: 
“Welcome home , my darling Bay 

To Ray’s surprise there were tears on 
Mrs. Lester’s cheeks. 


142 


RAY’S REWARD 


“ Don’t you want me to visit you? Are 
you sorry you have to have me? Will it 
make bother for you?” 

“ The idea of such a thing — why I want 
you more than anything. Come upstairs 
to your room; it is next to mine and there 
is a door between. I do not intend that 
you shall be obliged to make such a jour- 
ney from your room to mine, as you did 
in Lucerne — here is your room.” 

“ Oh, how beau-ti-ful!” was all that Ray 
said for a few moments; then she began 
taking in the details: “It’s all blue and 
white — what a cunning gilt bed with a 
lace canopy — looks like it was for a queen 
in a palace; and such love-ly white furni- 
ture — and, oh, look at the big bay window, 
with cushion seats all around it — why — 
they’re silk, real silk 9 so ’course they’re 
just to look pretty, and I’ll be real careful 
not to sit on them.” 

“They are for you to sit on,” declared 
Mrs. Lester, with happy laughter in her 
eyes; and the cushions on the divan are 
for use also, you see they match these.” 


AT HOME 


143 


“ Oh, what love-ly silver on the bureau; 
a brush and comb and shoe-buttoner, and 
other brushes! How good you are to let 
me see the room, just as you keep it for 
real company. Are you going to let it all 
stay while I visit? 'cause I’ll be real care- 
ful,” she went on with growing eagerness. 
“I’ll make believe that I’m a princess, but 
I’ll put my own brush and comb in one of 
the bureau drawers where I can’t see them, 
but I’ll always remember to use them and 
put them back out of sight again.” 

“ You precious Kay — everything in this 
room is for you to use; nothing here is for 
real company. I have furnished this room 
with everything that I thought that you 
would need, and would give you pleasure. 
I had the walls done in light blue so that 
your gaze might rest, every time that you 
awaken, on an unclouded blue like the sky. 
I do not wish you to see any cloud-specks 
that I can prevent.” 

“ Well, did I ever! I’d forgotten I told 
you about that.” 

“ I have never forgotten it, Ray, and I 


144 


RAY’S REWARD 


trust that I never shall; and I desire to 
help you, so that you may never forget it 
either; therefore I have had one thing only 
painted on the wall of your room. Look 
over here at this sunburst of light. See it 
is rays of light, all done in gilt from gold 
paint.” 

“ Isn’t it beau-ti-ful right on the lovely 
blue wall?” 

“ That, you see, is all that meets the eye, 
but if you come quite close you can read 
the words of the text which you taught 
me.” Ray eagerly read: 

GOD IS LIGHT, AND IN HIM 
IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL 
She then read it again, afterwards asking: 
“How could I teach you that text, when 
I never knew it before this minute?” 

“ It was you, Ray, nevertheless, who did 
teach me that text. Not in those words 
certainly, but I will explain. It was in 
Naples that you told me, that if the sky 
was all blue, with only one tiny cloud on 
it, some people would not notice the sky, 
but they would fuss over the tiny cloud. 


AT HOME 


145 


I was one of those people, Ray, and I knew 
that I was, while you were telling me a - 
bout it. Then you said further, that if the 
sky was covered with black storm clouds, 
and only ‘ a speck of blue’ was to be seen, 
some other people would keep seeing this 
6 speck of blue’. From that talk, Ray, I 
began looking for ‘the speck of blue’, and 
I learned little by little to see that ‘the 
speck of blue' was more to be depended on 
than the whole of the storm clouds; be- 
cause they only lasted for a time, but back 
of them was the blue of the sky, always 
there, and always the same; it was only the 
clouds that kept changing and making it 
appear as though the sky had disappeared. 
So gradually, little dear one, your lesson 
is bearing fruit, and I am learning that 
the real is that which is eternal , and the un- 
real things are those which only last for a 
time , hut that appear more real to us dur- 
ing that time , than even the real — like the 
clouds over the sky. So you see that the 
text means all this to me. ‘God is light, 
and in him is no darkness at all/ You see 


146 


RAY’S REWARD 


it is all the same: just as the sky is always 
blue — back of the clouds which seem for a 
time to hide it — so God is always Light, 
never changing, back of the darkness which 
seems to hide Him from us. But the dark- 
ness changes, and passes, and then we find 
the Truth and live in the light.” 

“ How beautiful you talk ! I will never 
forget what you have said — and I just love 
the text.” 

“ You have not noticed my new suit,” 
said Mrs. Lester, “and I put it on today 
for the first time, in honor of your return.” 

“ I’ve had so much to notice,” said Ray 
apologetically. “I knew you looked beau- 
tiful but I never noticed what you were 
wearing — why, it’s dark blue, isn’t it?” 

“ Yes. I have taken off black, which I 
had determined to wear the remainder of 
my days, for you and the text have helped 
me to see that I must not carry about with 
me the thought of sorrow and loss, if I 
wish to carry light wherever I go. So to- 
day I have put aside the darkness of the 
black clothes, to greet you in blue; and to- 


AT HOME 


147 


night at dinner I am going to wear a light 
blue evening gown; because we must cel- 
ebrate your coming.” 

“ Oh, everything is too good, too perfect, 
to be real — no, no I see you laughing at 
me. I see what you mean, and of course I 
mean that too — that everything is so good, 
so perfect, that it must be real.” 

Then she looked at her rather rum- 
pled dress ruefully, saying: “I hope that 
the suit case comes in time for dinner; but 
anyhow the only white dress in it isn’t 
clean. Mrs. Gray said there wasn’t any 
use getting it done up again as I wouldn’t 
need it ’till I got back to the Orphanage, 
and they’d see to my things being done 
up ready to use.” 

“Well, if you are playing at being a 
princess while you are in this room, I do 
not think you need talk about orphanages 
and the clothes you wear there. A prin- 
cess would naturally have pretty, dainty 
dresses of her own, and on the day her re- 
turn was being celebrated she would choose 
one which she liked best of all, to wear. 


148 


RAY’S REWARD 


She would go to this wardrobe, open the 
door, and — choose.” 

Ray gave a gasp of delight at sight of 
the dainty dresses hanging in such order- 
ly array, but she did not move. 

“ Which will you wear tonight?” urged 
Mrs. Lester. 

“ Am I to wear any I like?” 

“ Did I not tell you that while you were 
a guest in this room everything was your 
own to use?” 

“ Oh, then I’d like to wear this one here, 
’cause it has lace flounces, and lace in the 
neck and in the sleeves. I never had a 
lace dress in my hand before — but, oh — 
there’s a love-ly light blue dress, and — it’s 
real silk! It’s got pink rosebuds all over.” 

“ That is a wrapper to wear in your room 
when you are having your hair brushed, 
or when you lie on the divan to rest or to 
read.” 

“ Wear a real silk wrapper to brush my 
hair!” exclaimed Ray in great amazement. 
“Why I might get spots of water on it.” 

“ Here in the bureau, are boxes of sashes 


AT HOME 


149 


with hair ribbons to match; and in this 
drawer are stockings, also to match; and 
here are shoes and slippers. Celeste will 
dress you and arrange your hair, while I 
dress. The steamer was several hours late 
owing to the heavy fog, so we had better 
dress soon. If there is anything you want, 
tell Celeste and she will get it for you.” 

Ray did not say a word but got down 
on the floor to be nearer the wonderful 
slippers, to hold them in her hands and to 
feel the kid with her fingers. 

“Do you know,” she said finally, “this 
is the most wonderfullest of all? I used to 
make believe I had kid slippers to match; 
but I never could even make believe it 
right, ’cause I kept on seeing my feet in 
heavy black shoes all the time.” 

“Well, darling, I must leave you now, 
but I will come in again when we are both 
dressed. I want to see you before we go 
down stairs. Celeste is anxious to see our 
little fire heroine again, so I shall send her 
directly to you.” 

Mrs. Lester went to her room, and Ray 


150 


RAY’S REWARD 


continued holding the slippers, until her 
attention was called to a scampering of feet 
along the hall, and before she could recov- 
er from her surprise, she found herself in 
a whirlwind of dog. The slippers flew to 
the floor, and with short, joyous harks, and 
also licking' her face, Doggie was giving 
her a rough welcome. Celeste had follow- 
ed him into the room. 

“ We’re all glad to welcome you back, 
Miss Ray,” said Celeste smiling; “but I 
imagine no one more so than Doggie.” 

“I’m so glad to see you again, Celeste; 
but how could Doggie ever get here from 
Lucerne? Doggie! Doggie! doggie! I 
never, never , expected to see you again. 
And I’d rather have you here, than all the 
room, and the silver and dresses and sashes 
and slippers — so there now, you know how 
I love you!' 


XIV 


THE REAL 

“ TT thought that we would enjoy our first 
I dinner together/’ said Mrs. Lester. 
“I did not want any one with us. 
But now that it is over I think we may 
expect some people in during the evening. 
I have invited the Grays.” 

Ray was silent for a moment and then 
said slowly: “ Would you mind if I went 
to my room, and put on another pair of 
slippers?” 

“ Are these uncomfortable?” 

“ They’re perfect, but Beth mightn’t en- 
joy herself so much if she saw I had them. 
Mrs. Gray bought her a white lace dress 
over blue silk, to wear here; but she didn’t 
get blue slippers, and it might make her 
feel disappointed.” 

“ You can send her a pair tomorrow if 
she admires yours tonight; but I am go- 
151 


152 


RAY’S REWARD 


ing to watch, so that you do not give up 
everything, which you care for yourself, 
to make some one else happy; although I 
love you for wanting to do so.” 

“ Isn’t Doggie beau-ti-ful with that big 
blue bow? Look how he gets it under one 
ear when he cocks his cunning head on one 
side. Oh, Doggie, when a stone struck you 
in Naples you cried, but I guess you’d have 
forgotten to do that if you’d known you 
were coming to New York to live with Mrs. 
Lester, and have a box of ribbons all your 
very own.” 

The door opened and Mr. Stamford, 
the manager of the Orphanage, entered. 

Ray sprang impulsively forward: “Oh 
Mr. Stamford — you havn’t come to make 
me go back!” 

“ Certainly not. You do not have to go 
back while Mrs. Lester wants you with 
her. But how you have changed! Your 
trip has agreed with you wonderfully. 

Ray looked pleased; then her desire to 
have everything appear in its true light, 
made her say: “I guess it’s clothes, maybe. 


THE REAL 153 

I’m dressed up fine as any rich girl — see 
my turquois chain? And oh, is it against 
the rules for me to keep it at the Orphan- 
age, Mr. Stamford?” 

He smiled amiably. Ray had never 
seen him so pleasant before. 

“ I think that you will be able to keep 
it, since Mrs. Lester, has been kind enough 
to arrange the matter for you.” 

The Grays now arrived, and to Ray’s 
surprise Mrs. Gray kissed her warmly say- 
ing: “How very sweet you look tonight; 
and we are all very pleased to see you a- 
gain. The children could hardly wait for 
tonight.” 

“ Mrs. Gray, I believe you are acquaint- 
ed with Mr. Stamford?” And while the 
older people stood talking together, the 
children crowded around Ray. 

“Gee, Ray,” said Will, “you look good 
to me. I declare, it was a shame to keep 
you dressed so plain, when you look fine 
dressed right.” 

“It’s her hair,” announced Jack; “she 
always wore it slick back tight to her head, 


154 


RAY’S REWARD 


now that it all stands fluffed out, it’s all 
right.” 

“How did you ever get it that way?” 
questioned Beth. 

“ Celeste did my hair.” 

“Whew!” whistled Will. “A French 
maid! Well, you are going some.” 

Beth was beginning to feel peevish, 
and was therefore searching for something 
to say which would make Ray dissatisfied. 

“ I think you ought to wear pink,” she 
said; “you are too brown to wear blue; it 
needs a fair complexion and light hair; oh 
I see you have blue slippers; Mother says 
they’re common, and wouldn’t let me have 
them.” 

“ Why it is fortunate we know that,” 
broke in Mrs. Lester, who had approached 
the group; “because Ray was going to send 
you a pair tomorrow to make your pretty 
suit complete. She was so anxious for you 
to have them that I told her that she might 
send you a pair tomorrow, if you admired 
hers tonight; but as you do not, why of 
course that is settled.” 


THE REAL 


155 


Beth's face was a study. She wished more 
than ever that she could keep from saying 
hateful things to Ray, as she always got 
the worst of it; and now she had spoiled 
her chance of getting something which she 
wanted very much. But she was glad that 
her mother was by this time too much oc- 
cupied in talking to various members of 
the Board of Directors of the Orphanage, 
to have heard Mrs. Lester's remarks. 

Ray was surprised when nearly all of 
the women directors kissed her, and seem- 
ed fond of her; for she remembered that 
none of them had kissed her when she had 
started away on her journey, although 
many of them had given her much advice. 

In spite of the animated hum of con- 
versation, the sound of some heavy vehi- 
cle was heard to stop in front of the house. 
It proved to be an omnibus containing the 
children from the Orphanage; and when 
they came trooping in, the rooms seemed 
very full. Ray kissed each one, but they 
were embarassed, and acted as though she 
were far removed from them. 


156 


RAY’S REWARD 


Mrs. Lester watched Ray with gratified 
satisfaction. She noticed that, although 
Ray showed pleasure in having them with 
her, it was their pleasure she thought of 
and not her own. She saw that Ray at 
heart was not one of them, because unlike 
them. Ray was a dreamer, an idealist, 
reaching up for the best and highest in 
every way; and such an one is necessarily 
in advance of the masses. These girls had 
never been able to climb the heights, and 
reach her thoughts, therefore she had been 
alone among them. 

When it was time for supper Ray was 
most attentive to their wants, and could 
not help them to enough of the ice-cream. 

As Mr. Stamford arose and held up his 
hand for them to keep silent, Ray felt a 
shiver go right through her, as though she 
were back again at the Orphanage, and her 
bright dream had suddenly come to an end. 

Mr. Stamford started off in his most 
impressive style; expressing his thanks for 
the great pleasure which Mrs. Lester had 
given the inmates of the Orphanage, in 


THE REAL 


157 


providing a delightful entertainment for 
them, and an early opportunity of welcom- 
ing their dear companion home from her 
travels. 

Ray had difficulty in recognizing the 
fact that he was referring to her; but she 
was soon left in no doubt, for he turned 
and actually bowed to her. She did not 
think it could be possible; but certainly 
there stood Mr. Stamford, the manager of 
the Orphanage, bowing to her — just plain 
Ray, one of the inmates. 

His voice took on its most impressive 
tone, as he continued: “I speak in behalf 
of the Board of Directors when I say that 
we desire to express our thanks and grate- 
ful appreciation for the generous donation 
made to the Orphanage by Mrs. Lester, on 
behalf of our greatly esteemed Ray Lester.” 

He paused to give the moment due so- 
lemnity, then proceeded: “ Although we 
deeply regret having to part with her, we 
feel that her example will be felt by all of 
the girls, who have had the privilege of 
her companionship for years; and that they 


158 


KAY’S REWARD 


will rejoice with us in her good fortune in 
being adopted by this kind, generous heart 
that has discovered the beauty of her na- 
ture. May I be the first to congratulate 
Ray Lester?” 

He stepped forward and took Ray’s 
hands, while she gasped: “That is not my 
name, please.” 

“It is now,” said Mr. Stamford genially. 
“Mrs. Lester has adopted you. But you 
must not forget all that we have done for 
you; always keep a grateful heart.” 

Mr. Stamford was enjoying himself 
immensely. 

“Hurrah for Ray!” shouted Will; and 
every one clapped their hands, and some 
of the Board kissed Ray over again. 

“ I am glad to make the donation in the 
name of Ray,” said Mrs. Lester; “because 
her thought is first and always for others. 
Therefore it is very fitting that on this day 
when she takes her new name of Lester, 
her first act should be a gift, and that it 
should be to the only home which she has 
ever known until now. 


THE REAL 


159 


“ I have invited all those connected with 
her in any way, to share in welcoming her 
home tonight, knowing that it would give 
her pleasure. On a side table are boxes of 
candy which Ray will hand to each girl as 
she leaves the room; and in each box will 
be found a souvenir from abroad.” 

Mrs. Lester turned lovingly to look at 
Ray’s radient face, and saw there the look 
of passionate gratitude which always made 
her eyes so beautiful. 

“ I should like you, Ray, to express some 
special wish in regard to a gift for each of 
the girls. What would you like to give 
them?” 

Ray looked down at her feet, and then 
soberly announced: “A pair of slippers.” 

For a moment the silence was disturb- 
ing, and then some one laughed gaily. It 
was Mrs. Lester. 

The spell being broken, every one be- 
gan to talk at the same time. Finally Mr. 
Stamford suggested that the generous offer 
be changed to useful winter boots. 

“No indeed,” laughed Mrs. Lester, “this 


160 


RAY’S REWARD 


is the first wish expressed by Ray Lester, 
and it cannot be changed.” 

“ But my dear lad y,” said Mr. Stamford 
with great gallantry; “when could these 
girls wear kid slippers? And, besides, it 
would be very expensive for so many.” 

“ They will need them for Thanksgiving, 
when Ray will give a party for them, and 
I shall send new dresses, as my gift, to go 
with the slippers.” 

Ray slipped her hand into Mrs. Lester’s 
and gave it a tight squeeze, before going 
to hand out the boxes, as she had been di- 
rected to do. 

When the guests were finally all gone, 
Mrs. Lester took Ray’s hand and together 
they went to Ray’s room, where Doggie 
nearly shook his body to pieces, or so it 
appeared, in the joy of the re-union; as he 
had been banished during the party. 

“There is a package from Switzerland, 
on your bureau; you can open it while I 
go to my room, and slip on a kimona. You 
put your little silk kimona on also, and 
then we will talk awhile before retiring.” 


THE REAL 


161 


Ray could not wait to take off her dress 
before looking into her mysterious pack- 
age, which proved to be a beautiful carved 
wood frame, containing a large picture of 
Ernest with Doggie in his arms. When 
Mrs. Lester returned she was still regard- 
ing it joyfully. 

"It just seems as if I had everybody 
that belonged to me, here now; you and 
Ernest and Doggie — and oh, Doggie, just 
think! You are going to live with me and 
be mine always. I guess your name is 
Doggie Lester now.” 

“ I guess it must be,” laughed Mrs. Les- 
ter. “But I cannot let Ernest get ahead 
of me, so I have a small gift here for you. 
I wanted you to have something to keep 
always in remembrance of this happy day 
on which you have come home to stay.” 

Ray took the little box, and tore open 
the wrapper, letting this fall on the floor, 
where Doggie nosed it over with interest. 

“What a beau-ti-ful blue velvet box!” 
she exclaimed, touching a spring. 

“Oh — ee — ee! A watch! A real alive 


162 


RAY’S REWARD 


watch for me! I never even dared dream 
about a watch for just me. 0 it’s such a 
beauty! All blue — and what lovely white 
stones!” 

“ I had the case made for you in light 
blue enamel, and the stones are diamonds, 
and form your initials, see: R. L. Now 
look inside and see what is there.” 

Ray opened the case and read the en- 
graved words: ray lester, with fond 

LOVE FROM HER MOTHER. 

She looked up quickly and her words 
came in gasps: “I never — knew anything 
could — happen more wonderful — than — a 
watch, and when I heard Mr. Stamford say 
you’d adopted me, I knew it meant to live 
here, and for you to take care of me, but 
I s’posed you’d always be Mrs. Lester to 
me — do the words in the watch mean — 
different? Am I to call you — that?” 

“ My precious Ray, my darling daughter 
you are never to feel again that you do 
not belong to any one, and that no one be- 
longs to you. We belong from this day 


THE REAL 


163 


to each other, and when I kiss you good- 
night, I want to hear you call me Mother” 
“Oh,” said Ray softly. “Mother.” 

Then she threw both arms around Mrs. 
Lester's neck and sobbed out her new-found 
happiness in her arms. After a few min- 
utes the tears were gone, and her joyful 
face was lifted to Mrs. Lester's. 

“ Oh,” she said again. “Now I know it.” 
“What, my darling?” 

‘ ‘ Why the best things in the world are 
not the make-believes — they are the Real.” 























SEP 21 1911 


One copy del. to Cat. Div. 




SEP 2! 19/1 


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



00020 ( 3525(3 1 


